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Justice Department: Ferguson Police Biased Against Blacks, Scornful of Constitutional Rightshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/justice_department_ferguson_violated_blacks_civil_rights_repeatedly.html
<p>The Ferguson Police Department is not having a good week. On Monday, Justice Department officials <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/doj_ferguson_civil_rights_investigation_how_obama_will_will_use_the_report.html">provided an early peek</a> at a new report that accuses Ferguson officers of routinely abusing their authority and disproportionately targeting black citizens. Now that report has been released—and the conclusions it draws are absolutely devastating. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/us/justice-department-finds-pattern-of-police-bias-and-excessive-force-in-ferguson.html?module=Notification&amp;version=BreakingNews&amp;region=FixedTop&amp;action=Click&amp;contentCollection=BreakingNews&amp;contentID=30607495&amp;pgtype=Homepage">From the <em>New York Times</em></a>:</p>
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The Justice Department, which opened its investigation after a white Ferguson police officer shot and killed a black teenager last summer, says the discrimination was fueled in part by racial stereotypes held by city officials. Investigators say the officials made racist jokes about blacks on their city email accounts. ...
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[O]ver the past two years, African-Americans made up about two-thirds of the city’s population but accounted for 85 percent of traffic stops, 90 percent of citations, 93 percent of arrests and 88 percent of cases in which the police used force.
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Black motorists were twice as likely as whites to be searched but less likely to be found in possession of contraband such as drugs or guns.
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<p>One joke that was widely shared between municipal email accounts <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ferguson-officials-meet-justice-department-29353458">quipped</a> that then-candidate Barack Obama would not remain in the presidency for long because &quot;what black man holds a steady job for four years.&quot; Another popular joke spread by email said that black women who receive refunds for abortions get a credit from &quot;Crimestoppers.&quot; These noxiously racist attitudes clearly carried over into the justice system. <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/justice-department-releases-scathing-ferguson-report">From MSNBC</a>:</p>
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Blacks in Ferguson were 68% less likely than others to have their cases dismissed by the Municipal Judge and were disproportionately likely to have a warrant issued against them, according to the report. As recently as 2013, 96% of the people who were arrested on an outstanding warrant were black.
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But even more than the treatment they received once stopped, the Justice Department’s report found that blacks were used in the criminal justice system to buoy the city’s economy and balance its budget. The practices uncovered by federal investigators have violated residents’ Constitutional Rights of due process and equal protection under the law.
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The DOJ’s report found that blacks were also subject to unfair stops and arrest for minor offenses like “manner of walking” in a roadway.
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<p>As my colleague Josh Voorhees <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/doj_ferguson_civil_rights_investigation_how_obama_will_will_use_the_report.html">explained on Monday</a>, the Justice Department will likely use this report to pressure local officials to enter a &quot;consent decree,&quot; requiring them to cooperate with the feds to reform their practices. If Ferguson refuses to play nice, the Justice Department will almost certainly launch a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:20:04 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/justice_department_ferguson_violated_blacks_civil_rights_repeatedly.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-03-03T20:20:04ZbriefingJustice Department: Ferguson Police Biased Against Blacks, Scornful of Constitutional Rights227150303012Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/justice_department_ferguson_violated_blacks_civil_rights_repeatedly.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe Ferguson Police Department seems unaware of the First Amendment. Also the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth.Ted Cruz Compares Obama to Neville Chamberlain and Iran to Nazi Germanyhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/ted_cruz_reacts_to_netanyahu_s_speech_calls_a_possible_iran_deal_reminiscent.html
<p>After <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/bibi_to_america_i_love_you_but_don_t_trust_iran.html">Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech Tuesday</a>, Sen. Ted Cruz held court for a glut of reporters in Statuary Hall, and his response to the Israeli prime minister’s message was unequivocal: The current situation with Iran, Cruz said, is just like the run-up to World War II.</p>
<p>“The deal being negotiated today is reminiscent of Munich in 1938,” the slow-talking Texan said, referring to the Munich Agreement that let Nazi Germany annex part of Czechoslovakia. “And when the administration comes back to America and promises peace in our time, we shouldn’t believe them now any more than we should have believed them then.”</p>
<p>Comparing the Obama administration to Neville Chamberlain, the British leader whose historic legacy is that he tried and failed to appease Hitler, is quite a strong statement. When a reporter asked Cruz if today was really comparable to the rise of the Third Reich, Cruz said, “Yes.”</p>
<p>“There is one threat, and one threat only, on the face of the globe with the potential to once again annihilate 6 million Jews,” Cruz continued. “A nuclear Iran poses an existential threat to the nation of Israel, that’s what Prime Minister Netanyahu has told us.”</p>
<p>Cruz went to even greater lengths to be crystal-clear.</p>
<p>“It is worth underscoring that the word <em>existential</em> does not mean a Frenchman in a black beret chain-smoking,” he said. “It means going to the very existence of the nation of Israel.”</p>
<p>I asked Cruz if he thought Israel would likely be destroyed if the president’s deal with Iran got finalized.</p>
<p>“If this deal is implemented, it will lead, ineluctably, to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons,” he said.</p>
<p>“What the Obama administration doesn’t understand is these are radical Islamic zealots who have pledged global jihad and have openly stated their desire to murder as many Jews and as many Americans as possible,” Cruz continued. “And if history teaches one lesson, it is that if somebody tells you they want to kill you, believe them.”</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:11:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/ted_cruz_reacts_to_netanyahu_s_speech_calls_a_possible_iran_deal_reminiscent.htmlBetsy Woodruff2015-03-03T20:11:00ZbriefingTed Cruz’s Takeaway from Netanyahu’s Speech: We’re on the Verge of Another Nazi Germany227150303011Betsy WoodruffThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/ted_cruz_reacts_to_netanyahu_s_speech_calls_a_possible_iran_deal_reminiscent.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesTed Cruz says a deal with Iran will lead to a nuclear Iran.Prosecutors to Seek the Death Penalty for Chapel Hill Killerhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/prosecutors_to_seek_death_penalty_for_chapel_hill_killer.html
<p>The Durham County district attorney will seek the death penalty for&nbsp;Craig S. Hicks, the alleged <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/11/three_muslim_students_shot_dead_near_chapel_hill_unc_campus.html">killer of three Muslim students</a> in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, according to court filings&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/us/prosecutors-to-seek-death-penalty-in-murders-of-arab-american-students.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=second-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news">obtained by the <em>New York Times</em></a><em>. </em>Police are searching Hicks’ computer files and phones for evidence of his motivation in the shooting. Prosecutors need not prove that Hicks shot the students on account of their religion—which would make the killing a hate crime—in order to secure a capital conviction. But if the district attorney can prove that Hicks’ crime was motivated by anti-Muslim bias, the jury might be more likely to send Hicks to death row.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/us/chapel-hill-muslim-student-shootings-north-carolina.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=second-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news">recent <em>New York Times </em>piece</a> also illustrated Hicks’ profound hatred for all religions, giving credence to the suspicion that his alleged crime was motivated by hate. From that report:</p>
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By mid-January, friends were becoming convinced that Mr. Hicks was obsessing over the couple, particularly Ms. Abu-Salha. They suspected it had to do with the way she dressed. “If you look at Deah, he looks like your average white guy,” said Nida Allam, a close friend. “But Yusor wears the head scarf. And so does Razan.” ...&nbsp;
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There is no question Mr. Hicks had a problem with religion. His Facebook page was full of quotations and memes denigrating Christianity. On Jan. 27, he shared a graphic that may have made reference to Islam: “People say there is nothing that can solve the Middle East problem … I say there is something. Atheism.”
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<p>Before prosecutors move forward with their case against Hicks, they will need to demonstrate to a judge that they have sufficient evidence to pursue capital punishment. That hearing will likely occur in April.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:55:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/prosecutors_to_seek_death_penalty_for_chapel_hill_killer.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-03-03T19:55:00ZbriefingProsecutors to Seek the Death Penalty for Chapel Hill Killer227150303010Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/prosecutors_to_seek_death_penalty_for_chapel_hill_killer.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Sara D. Davis/Getty ImagesCraig Stephen Hicks, murder suspect.Israeli Twitter Unsure if #BibiSpeech&nbsp;was &quot;Meh&quot; Moment or Big Dealhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/israeli_twitter_responds_to_benjamin_netanyahu_s_speech_before_congress.html
<p>Israeli journalists and public policy voices spent Tuesday live tweeting Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiery speech in front of Congress, which <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/bibi_to_america_i_love_you_but_don_t_trust_iran.html">argued against a nuclear deal with Iran</a>. While opinion was for the most part divided neatly along ideological lines, there was some interesting analysis of how the speech might successfully achieve its two main apparent goals of derailing the Obama administration’s current nuclear negotiations with Iran and getting Netanyahu re-elected.</p>
<p>Netanyahu defenders and critics alike were quick to note that the boycott of the speech by&nbsp;<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/232160-whip-list-dems-skipping-netanyahu-speech">more than 50 Democratic members of Congress</a> didn’t have much of a visual impact in a raucous full house.</p>
<p>A big topic of conversation was Netanyahu’s shout-out to the Purim holiday, which starts on Wednesday. Key figures in the <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2010/02/the_ghosts_of_purim_past.html">Purim narrative</a> are a princess named Esther who saved the Jewish people from a genocidal tyrant named Haman.</p>
<p>Soon a game started of counting the standing ovations Congress gave Netanyahu, though there was debate about the final number.</p>
<p>There seemed to be a general consensus, though, supporting the critiques of the Iranian regime broadly.</p>
<p>But in terms of impact, opinion was split. Some saw it as an effective piece of rhetoric:</p>
<p>Others saw it as an effective, if cynical, bit of electioneering:</p>
<p>And several saw it as a big ball of nothing:</p>
<p>I guess we’ll be able to tell more in two weeks when Israeli voters actually go to the polls.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:47:15 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/israeli_twitter_responds_to_benjamin_netanyahu_s_speech_before_congress.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-03-03T19:47:15ZbriefingIsraeli Twitter Unsure if #BibiSpeech was &quot;Meh&quot; Moment or Big Deal227150303009israelJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/israeli_twitter_responds_to_benjamin_netanyahu_s_speech_before_congress.htmlfalsefalsefalseChip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesThey like me, they really, really like me.Democrats on Netanyahu’s Speech: Bibi’s Never Seen a War He Doesn’t Want the U.S. to Fighthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/netanyahu_s_speech_to_congress_democrats_react_to_bibi_s_message_on_iran.html
<p>A few minutes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/bibi_to_america_i_love_you_but_don_t_trust_iran.html">wrapped up a speech to Congress</a> about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Indiana Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski yelled, “Wooh, baby! That was awesome!”</p>
<p>In a cramped, dark room in the basement of the Capitol, sentiments were very different. About a dozen liberal House Democrats—most of whom boycotted the prime minister’s speech—assembled to tear into Netanyahu’s address and Speaker John Boehner’s decision to invite him without the White House’s imprimatur.</p>
<p>Rep. Jared Huffman of California, who attended the speech, accused the prime minister of trying to push the United States into war.</p>
<p>“This is a prime minister who’s never seen a war he didn’t want our country to fight,” Huffman said, adding that diplomats negotiating with Iran shouldn’t be distracted by Netanyahu’s address.</p>
<p>Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a liberal Illinois Democrat, suggested Netanyahu’s credibility is suspect because he also backed the 2003 war in Iraq.</p>
<p>“What I heard today felt to me like an effort to stampede the United States into war once again,” she said.</p>
<p>Another Democrat compared Netanyahu to George W. Bush’s former vice president. “This speech was straight out of the Dick Cheney playbook,” said Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth. “It was fear-mongering at its ultimate.”</p>
<p>Yarmuth also said that Netanyahu’s requests were akin to those of a small child looking to visit an amusement park.</p>
<p>“Prime Minister Netanyahu basically said that the only acceptable deal was a perfect deal, or an ideal deal,” Yarmuth said. “It’s like the child that says, <em>I want to go to Disneyland every day, eat ice cream and drink Coca-Cola every day, and not go to school</em>.”</p>
<p>Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer, sporting his trademark brightly colored bicycle lapel pin and bowtie, criticized Netanyahu for neglecting to discuss the Palestinian peace process in his address. He also said the Israeli prime minister is too pessimistic about the possibility of healthier U.S./Iran relations.</p>
<p>“All of my friends who visited Iran as private citizens are struck by how friendly and outgoing Iranians are,” he said.</p>
<p>The Republicans in the House chamber (and many of the Democrats) couldn’t have given Netanyahu’s speech a warmer welcome. But for the progressive Democrats who sat the event out and then assembled in the Capitol basement, the day felt like the run-up to the Iraq war all over again.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:14:56 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/netanyahu_s_speech_to_congress_democrats_react_to_bibi_s_message_on_iran.htmlBetsy Woodruff2015-03-03T19:14:56ZbriefingDemocrats on Netanyahu’s Speech: Bibi’s Never Seen a War He Doesn’t Want the U.S. to Fight227150303008Betsy WoodruffThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/netanyahu_s_speech_to_congress_democrats_react_to_bibi_s_message_on_iran.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to Congress.Edward Snowden Is Ready to Return to the United States—if ...http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/snowden_will_return_to_the_united_states_if_he_gets_a_fair_trial.html
<p>Edward Snowden, the fugitive who leaked countless documents detailing the National Security Agency’s possibly unconstitutional mass surveillance program, is ready to return to the United States, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/03/us-russia-usa-snowden-idUSKBN0LZ1U020150303">his attorney said Tuesday</a>. He has just one condition—but it’s a pretty big one. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/edward-snowden-ready-return-states-144245040.html">From the AFP</a>:</p>
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“He is thinking about it. He has a desire to return and we are doing everything we can to make it happen,” Anatoly Kucherena, the Russian lawyer who represents [Snowden] told a news conference. ... With a group of lawyers from other countries, we are working on the question of his return to America,” Kucherena said.
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“Snowden is ready to return to the States, but on the condition that he is given a guarantee of a legal and impartial trial,” he said.
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<p>And what would Snowden consider “legal and impartial”? <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/edward-snowden-wants-to-return-us-115697.html">According to&nbsp;Jesselyn Radack</a>, one of Snowden’s American legal advisers, a trial under the Espionage Act—the World War I-era law that Snowden violated—“would not be considered fair.” Nor are Snowden’s attorneys satisfied with the fact that Attorney General Eric Holder has sworn that the Justice Department won’t seek the death penalty in a case against the former leaker. Snowden himself has suggested that he deserves a complete pardon. In an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/29/edward-snowden-says-he-would-like-to-return-home-but-not-to-a-jail-cell/">interview</a> with erstwhile NBC News anchor Brian Williams, Snowden said he didn't want to “walk into a jail cell to serve as a bad example for other people who see something happen, some violation of the Constitution and think they need to say something about it.” He then explained:</p>
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“I don’t think there’s ever been any question that I’d like to go home,” Snowden said. “I mean, I’ve from Day One said that I’m doing this to serve my country. Now, whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say.”
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<p>Ready to return to the comforts of home: yes. Ready to face the consequences for leaking top-secret government information: not quite.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:23:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/snowden_will_return_to_the_united_states_if_he_gets_a_fair_trial.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-03-03T18:23:00ZbriefingEdward Snowden Is Ready to Return to the United States—if ...227150303007Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/snowden_will_return_to_the_united_states_if_he_gets_a_fair_trial.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP/Getty ImagesA homebody at heart.&nbsp;Bibi to America: I Love You, but Don’t Trust Iranhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/bibi_to_america_i_love_you_but_don_t_trust_iran.html
<p>After weeks of anticipation and controversy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a punchy and combative speech to a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday, making the case against what he argues would be a “bad deal” over Iran’s nuclear program.</p>
<p>The speech had been billed as a response to President Obama’s most recent State of the Union address, and the prime minister’s entrance to the chamber had the feeling of a presidential speech. The booming voice we’re used to hearing introduce the American president as he walks into the chamber instead announced, “Mr. Speaker, the prime minster of Israel.” Netanyahu was then mobbed by members of Congress trying to shake his hand—a sight likely to provoke extreme irritation in both the White House and among his election challengers back in Israel.</p>
<p>The speech, which was boycotted by <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/232160-whip-list-dems-skipping-netanyahu-speech">56 Democratic members of Congress</a>, began with an acknowledgment of the controversy, with Netanyahu saying, “I deeply regret that some might perceive my being here as political—that was never my intention.” Netanyahu was full of praise for Democrats, shouting out well wishes to recently injured Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, listing how Obama has helped Israel, and praising the support of U.S. presidents “from Harry Truman to Barack Obama.” Later in the speech, Netanyahu referred to “my longtime friend Secretary of State John Kerry,” a figure whose relationship with the current Israeli government has been <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/14/israeli-defense-minister-john-kerry-leave-us-alone/">testy at best</a>. Netanyahu also recognized the role of U.S. military support during last summer’s war in Gaza, saying, “This capitol dome helped build our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome">Iron Dome</a>.”</p>
<p>After getting all that out of the way, the punchline-heavy speech, which included references to the biblical story of Esther, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0684801469/?tag=slatmaga-20">A Farewell to Arms</a></em>, Robert Frost, and <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007HNFREW/?tag=slatmaga-20">Game of Thrones</a>, </em>tried to make the case that despite the recent election of Hassan Rouhani, “Iran’s regime is as radical as ever,” and “This regime will always be an enemy of America.”</p>
<p>Netanyahu took a specific shot at Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, saying, “The same Zarif who charmed Western diplomats laid a wreath at the grave of Imad Mugjniyah,” a senior member of Hezbollah.</p>
<p>Netanyahu rejected the notion that the unofficial alliance in the battle against ISIS has given the U.S. and Iran common interests. “When it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy,” he said. “To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle but lose the war.”</p>
<p>Netanyahu noted that pro-Iranian governments are now in place in four Middle Eastern countries—Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen—and alliteratively warned, “Iran’s goons in Gaza, its lackeys in Lebanon, its Revolutionary Guards in the Golan Heights are clutching Israel with three tentacles of jihad.”</p>
<p>As for the nuclear deal itself, Netanyahu argued that because it “leaves Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure” it would “all but guarantee that Iran gets those weapons.”</p>
<p>Rejecting the argument that the alternative to a deal would be war, Netanyahu said “the alternative to this bad deal is a much better deal,” suggesting that Western sanctions and the falling price of oil would increase leverage over Tehran. “If Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, let it act like a normal country,” he said.</p>
<p>As he has in the past, Netanyahu drew parallels between the threat faced by Israel today and the Holocaust. “The days when the Jewish people remain passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over,” he said. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who was sitting in the audience, got a special mention.</p>
<p>While the response may not have been as rapturous as Netanyahu’s previous two appearances—he is now the only foreign leader other than Winston Churchill to address Congress three times—he was interrupted frequently by standing ovations as well as sustained applause at the beginning and end. There was plenty of red meat for Republicans who share his opposition to the Iran deal, and the paeans to bipartisanship will likely do little to improve his strained ties with the White House. If Netanyahu holds on at the polls later this month, the tensions of the last few weeks aren’t going anywhere. If this was his last trip to the U.S. as prime minister, it was quite a finale.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:10:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/bibi_to_america_i_love_you_but_don_t_trust_iran.htmlJoshua Keating2015-03-03T18:10:00ZbriefingBibi to America: I Love You, but Don’t Trust Iran227150303006Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/bibi_to_america_i_love_you_but_don_t_trust_iran.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of the United States Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2015, in Washington, D.C.Petraeus Reaches Plea Deal With Justice Department, Avoids Trialhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/petraeus_reaches_plea_deal_with_justice_department_to_avoid_trial.html
<p>On Tuesday the Justice Department <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/04/us/petraeus-plea-deal-over-giving-classified-data-to-lover.html">announced</a> that General David&nbsp;Petraeus had accepted a remarkably lenient plea deal that will ensure the retired four-star general does not face a highly public and humiliating trial. Prosecutors allege that&nbsp;Petraeus, while serving as director of the CIA, illegally gave his mistress access to classified information. That mistress, of course, was Paula Broadwell,&nbsp;Petraeus’ biographer.</p>
<p>As part of the deal, Patraeus will <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/03/david-petraeus-paula-broadwell/24312109/">plead guilty</a> to a single count of “unlawfully and knowingly” removing classified material and storing it at “unauthorized” locations—a criminal charge that carries up to one year in jail time. Had his case gone to trial,&nbsp;Patraeus would have likely faced a harsher charge and a more stringent punishment. A federal judge will now decide whether&nbsp;Patraeus must go to prison or whether he can simply serve probation.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Despite the drama that has swirled around&nbsp;Patraeus for the last few years, the former CIA director has done remarkably well for himself since leaving the government. Patraeus is currently a partner at&nbsp;Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a massive private equity firm, and has taught classes—for an <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/07/01/david_petraeus_may_soon_make_2_250_an_hour.html">immense </a>paycheck—at several renowned universities. Broadwell has <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article9256793.html">maintained a lower profile</a>, encouraging residents of her adopted hometown, Charlotte, North Carolina, to live healthy and active lifestyles.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 17:53:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/petraeus_reaches_plea_deal_with_justice_department_to_avoid_trial.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-03-03T17:53:00ZbriefingPetraeus Reaches Plea Deal With Justice Department, Avoids Trial227150303005Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/petraeus_reaches_plea_deal_with_justice_department_to_avoid_trial.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesPetraeus completes his fall from grace.Here Is the Average Penis Size According to the Latest in Penis Measuring Sciencehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/penis_researchers_measure_average_penis_size_in_comprehensive_new_penis.html
<p>Penis researchers studying penis size in the penis journal <em><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291464-410X/homepage/ProductInformation.html">BJU International</a></em> have analyzed <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bju.13010/full">upward of 15,521 penises</a> and have determined the average penis length in 20 previous penis studies is 5.16 inches when erect.</p>
<p>This latest penis study, which claims to be the first comprehensive look at all previous penis studies published in English, measured penises of men ages 17 to 91 in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States. It also determined that most penises fall in a normal range of size, and that 2.28 percent of the population has unusually small penises. The study claims it could be useful for academic purposes or to help assess men complaining of small penis size, who might be diagnosed with “small penis anxiety” or body dysmorphic disorder.</p>
<p>The research also allows doctors to chart a patient’s penis size compared with the rest of the population.</p>
<p>The researchers noted that these studies had a potential flaw in self-selection, because “some of the volunteers across different studies may have taken part in a study because they were more confident with their penis size than the general male population.” The study found no significant correlation between penis size and shoe size, penis length and index finger length, and other comparisons such as “testicular volume.” The only consistent correlation it did find was between stretched flaccid penis length and erect penis length. If you want to know how penis researchers stretch a flaccid penis, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2013/02/chubby_checker_lawsuit_does_shoe_size_correlate_with_penis_size.html">click here</a>, and if you want to know more details about the study, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bju.13010/full">click here</a>.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:04:20 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/penis_researchers_measure_average_penis_size_in_comprehensive_new_penis.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-03-03T16:04:20ZbriefingHere Is the Average Penis Size According to the Latest in Penis Measuring Science227150303004Jeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/penis_researchers_measure_average_penis_size_in_comprehensive_new_penis.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThis is not the penis lab, but it would be funny if it were.Boehner Throws in the DHS Towel, Will Allow Vote on Clean Homeland Funding Billhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/dhs_immigration_fight_john_boehner_relents_agrees_to_hold_vote_on_the_senate.html
<p>And so ends the latest threat of a partial government shutdown.</p>
<p>House Speaker John <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/03/house-to-vote-on-new-bill-to-fully-fund-homeland-security/?hpid=z1">Boehner told his GOP caucus</a> Tuesday morning that the lower chamber will vote as soon as later Tuesday to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year. That bill—which lacks any of the immigration-reform-blocking strings that House conservatives had demanded in exchange for DHS funding—has already passed the Senate.</p>
<p>The move won’t make Boehner any friends in the most conservative wing of his party, but the Ohio Republican doesn’t have any other viable options at this point. The short-term extension the House passed late last week expires Friday at midnight. After a conservative revolt, the speaker needed Democratic help to pass that one-week funding bill. But given Nancy Pelosi was unlikely to throw Boehner a second lifeline next time around, Boehner was left with only two real options in this round: a partial DHS shutdown, which he’s already gone to great lengths to avoid, or the Senate’s no-strings funding bill.</p>
<p>“I believe this decision—considering where we are—is the right one for this team, and the right one for this country,” Boehner reportedly told his fellow House Republicans at a closed-door briefing Tuesday morning (details of which were quickly <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/impasse-over-gop-leaders-will-allow-clean-dhs-vote-20150303">leaked to</a> a number of <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/dhs-funding-bill-house-vote-115693.html#ixzz3TKzna3Ja">Beltway publications</a>).</p>
<p>There are signs that the ending to this drama was actually scripted late last week after Boehner’s can-kicking bid for a three-week funding bill unexpectedly and embarrassingly failed to attract the support of enough of his party’s rank-and-file. The one-week extension that followed would have met the same fate—prompting a partial DHS shutdown—if it weren’t for the House Democrats who unexpectedly dropped their opposition to any short-term extension to vote for the bill. While Boehner’s office has denied he promised Pelosi&nbsp;a vote this week on the full funding bill in exchange for her party’s eleventh-hour help last Friday, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/dhs_immigration_stalemate_why_the_homeland_security_fight_ends_in_total.html">Democrats have treated it as something closer to an open secret</a>.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether a deal was cut, though, the end result will be the same: Congress will pass the long-term funding bill that President Obama and his congressional allies have been demanding for weeks. Republicans, meanwhile, will be left with nothing to show for a fight that (again) exposed the deep&nbsp;ideological and strategic divide between House GOP hardliners and their more moderate colleagues in the House and Senate.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:01:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/dhs_immigration_fight_john_boehner_relents_agrees_to_hold_vote_on_the_senate.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-03-03T16:01:00ZbriefingBoehner Throws in the DHS Towel, Will Allow Vote on Clean Homeland Funding Bill227150303003politicsJosh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/dhs_immigration_fight_john_boehner_relents_agrees_to_hold_vote_on_the_senate.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesJohn Boehner ran out of options in the DHS fight.What Gets Critics Killed in Putin’s Russiahttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/boris_nemtsov_murder_what_gets_critics_killed_in_putin_s_russia.html
<p>In Vladimir Putin’s Russia, government critics have been jailed on transparently trumped-up charges, independent media outlets have been shut down, NGOs have been subjected to intrusive investigations, and opposition candidates have been blocked from access to the media and the ballot. But Putin’s Russia is also a place where opposition rallies regularly take place and government critics willingly give on-the-record quotes to the media. You can usually get away with talking or writing about democracy and human rights in Russia, though getting anyone to hear or read it is a bit tougher.</p>
<p>But Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down last week in Moscow, wasn’t just a critic or an opposition leader. He was a whistleblower. If Nemtsov had only spoken out or organized against Putin, it’s possible he might still be alive today, facing a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/world/europe/russian-opposition-leaders-get-jail-terms.html?_r=0">10-day jail sentence</a> for resisting arrest during a 2012 protest. But he had published reports on <a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-09-17/vladimir-putin-the-richest-man-on-earth">Putin’s personal wealth</a> and on <a href="http://www.interpretermag.com/winter-olympics-in-the-sub-tropics-corruption-and-abuse-in-sochi/">corruption in the preparations</a> for the Sochi Olympics. Shortly before his death, he was, according to several sources, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/boris_nemtsov_murdered_russian_opposition_leader_was_going_to_release_information.html">preparing to release a report</a> on Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.</p>
<p>The purported reasons for Nemtsov’s murder are all speculation. We don’t know who the perpetrators were, and there’s a good chance we <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/boris-nemtsov-never-know-who-killed-moscow-vladimir-putin-russian-opposition">never will</a>. But this isn’t the first mysterious killing in Russia to fit this pattern. Many opponents of Putin’s government have been harassed, subjected to smear campaigns, or even jailed, but those who turn up dead tend to have revealed or were threatening to reveal embarrassing or incriminating information about those in power.</p>
<p>Many <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/mar/11/putin-win-russian-free-press">have been investigative journalists</a>, including <em>Forbes Russia </em>editor <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/10/world/us-investigative-journalist-is-shot-to-death-in-russia.html">Paul Klebnikov</a> and Anna Politkovskaya, who had <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/mar/01/russia.chechnya">reported extensively</a> on Russia’s brutal and often hidden war in Chechnya before she was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment building. Alexander Litvinenko, a former officer in the FSB (the successor to the KGB), had written a book <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-19647226">blaming his former agency</a> for a number of crimes and was reportedly investigating Politkovskaya’s death before he was poisoned with polonium in Britain in 2006. The lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in prison in 2009—human rights groups say he was beaten and had been denied medical care—after conducting an investigation that implicated <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-23265423">senior officials in large-scale tax fraud</a>.</p>
<p>The killing of well-known politicians has actually been less common under Putin than during the 1990s, but there have been a few cases. The member of parliament and co-chairman of the Russian Liberal Party, Sergei Yushenkov, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2958997.stm">was gunned down</a> outside his apartment in 2003. He had been the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/blog/september-1999-russian-apartment-bombings-timeline">chairman of a commission</a> investigating reports that the FSB was behind a series of mysterious apartment bombings in 1999 that had been blamed by the authorities on Chechen extremists and precipitated Russia’s second war in Chechnya as well as Putin’s rise to power.</p>
<p>One exception to the rule is the populist firebrand Alexei Navalny, who first gained a following as a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/04/04/net-impact">blogger publishing dirt</a> on powerful business and political figures before eclipsing Nemtsov as the country’s best-known opposition leader. For now, the government seems to be trying to keep Navalny under control by sentencing him to a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31545047">series of short jail terms</a> and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/30/us-russia-crisis-navalny-idUSKBN0K80AA20141230">holding his brother hostage</a>, but it’s probably not a coincidence that a protest leader with a sideline as a muckraker is the opposition figure the government <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/12/30/alexey_navalny_re_arrested_in_moscow_can_putin_silence_russia_s_most_prominent.html">seems most flummoxed by</a>.</p>
<p>The Russian government likely doesn’t feel too endangered by protests of opposition candidates. Putin remains overwhelmingly popular, and the political opposition is divided and often ineffectual. Still, Putin’s regime thrives on <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/08/28/vladimir_putin_ramps_up_his_postmodern_non_invasion_invasion_of_ukraine.html">media control and message management</a>. When someone like Nemtsov circumvents that control and starts airing incriminating information, that’s when he finds himself in the greatest danger.</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:23:58 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/boris_nemtsov_murder_what_gets_critics_killed_in_putin_s_russia.htmlJoshua Keating2015-03-03T15:23:58ZbriefingWhat Gets Critics Killed in Putin’s Russia227150303002Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/boris_nemtsov_murder_what_gets_critics_killed_in_putin_s_russia.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty ImagesA woman holds a copy of a book by Boris Nemtsov as she lines up to attend a farewell ceremony to the slain opposition leader in Moscow on March 3, 2015.&nbsp;Senior Member of Israel’s Labor Party: Netanyahu Is Damaging Israel’s National Security&nbsp;http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/erel_margalit_senior_member_of_israel_s_labor_party_netanyahu_is_damaging.html
<p>Speaking ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly anticipated speech to Congress on Tuesday, Member of the Knesset Erel Margalit, who is representing the opposition Israeli Labor Party at this week’s AIPAC conference in Washington, strongly criticized the prime minister for creating what he describes as a dangerous distraction.</p>
<p>“We are very concerned with the security issue of Iran being a threshold nuclear state,” he told me. “But we are disappointed that the main discussion is not about Iran, but about Netanyahu’s speech.” Noting <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/poll-nearly-half-americans-take-issue-netanyahu-speech-n315071">an NBC poll released</a> this week, Margalit said that “the American public was split half and half on whether Netanyahu should give the speech or not. If you had asked if Iran should be a nuclear state, I think there would be overwhelming support against it.”</p>
<p>Responding to the prime minister’s <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/world/middleeast/white-house-and-netanyahu-aipac-conference.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=0">speech</a> to the AIPAC conference Monday, Margalit said that Netanyahu “stated good purposes” by arguing that Israel should not be a partisan issue in U.S. politics, but “these are words, and I think by his actions he’s achieving the opposite. He is creating a problem for some of the Democrats and even the Republicans by making this speech without the president’s support.”</p>
<p>Of course, it’s not just Netanyahu who is campaigning in Washington. With a little more than two weeks left until the Israeli election, recent&nbsp;<a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel-election-2015/.premium-1.644095">polls show</a> Zionist Union—the center-left alliance between Margalit’s Labor Party (led by Isaac Herzog) and former justice and foreign minister Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah—with a slight edge over Netanyahu’s Likud. (Caveat: Israeli polls are often unreliable and of limited usefulness since the winning party will almost certainly have to form a coalition with smaller parties to create a government.)</p>
<p>Netanyahu <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Netanyahu-slams-Herzog-for-saying-Iran-not-an-existential-threat-391860">has criticized</a> the Labor Party for not taking the threat of a nuclear Iran seriously enough. (Herzog&nbsp;<a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/02/24/israeli-opposition-leader-isaac-herzog-cancels-aipac-conference-appearance/">canceled a planned appearance</a> at AIPAC, saying he wanted to focus on campaigning.) Margalit said that he too is concerned about the possibility of a too lenient nuclear deal that would set “Iran on the path of a nuclear state and agrees to a language that makes that possible at some point,” but argued that Netanyahu’s approach hasn’t helped matters. “Iran is a major concern of national security to Israel,” he said. “But the other national concern of national security is the relationship between Israel and the U.S. administration. I think that corrupting that channel and losing the trust in that channel is problematic to Israel’s very security.” Asked if this is the worst period he’s ever seen in U.S.-Israeli relations, he said he wasn’t sure but “the very question is a problem.”</p>
<p>Margalit, who was one of the country’s most <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2012/06/19/erel-margalit-israel-vc-7-golden-rules-to-entrepeneurs/">successful venture capitalists</a> before going into politics and says he hopes to be economics minister in a new government, suggested that Netanyahu’s overwhelming focus on security issues may be a way to take attention away from the state of the Israeli economy and the country’s <a href="http://www.oecd.org/israel/OECD-SocietyAtaGlance2014-Highlights-Israel.pdf">growing inequality</a>. “The issue of Iran is very important, but sometimes when you’re not dealing with the housing issue or how people are making a living, making a cry about security issues is a way out,” he said.</p>
<p>I asked Margalit how a Labor-led government might go about repairing Israel’s international image, and he said that progress on a two-state solution is essential. Labor favors a halt to the construction of far-flung settlements in the West Bank and advocates land swaps for the more established settlements around Jerusalem.</p>
<p>“Settlements are a thing that people here in the U.S. and elsewhere are sick of hearing about,” he said. “People want to see Israel take a stand to define its own borders and hear what kind of compromises we are we willing to make. Even if the Palestinians are not ready yet, we can say what we are willing to do, which will put a lot of the pressure on them.”</p>
<p>Summing up the current leaders of the Israeli right, whom he and his Labor colleagues are hoping to supplant, he said, “People like [Avidgor] Lieberman, [Naftali] Benett, and Netanyahu are leading Israel as a fort.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:13:54 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/erel_margalit_senior_member_of_israel_s_labor_party_netanyahu_is_damaging.htmlJoshua Keating2015-03-03T15:13:54ZbriefingSenior Member of Israel’s Labor Party: Netanyahu Is Damaging Israel’s National Security&nbsp;227150303001Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/03/erel_margalit_senior_member_of_israel_s_labor_party_netanyahu_is_damaging.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for JVPErel Margalit.Hillary Clinton Exclusively Used Personal Email Account While Secretary of Statehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/hillary_clinton_only_used_personal_email_as_secretary_of_state.html
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/us/politics/hillary-clintons-use-of-private-email-at-state-department-raises-flags.html?ref=politics">The <em>New York Times </em>reports</a> on Monday that presumptive presidential candidate Hillary Clinton used a personal email account for all of her email correspondence while serving four years as secretary of state. Clinton did not even have a government email address during her time at the helm of the State Department, raising questions about whether Clinton’s lack of a public account runs afoul of the Federal Records Act, which requires official correspondence be preserved.</p>
<p>Just months ago, Clinton advisors forked over 55,000 pages of emails from her private account to comply with the record-keeping requirements, but it was Clinton advisors who reviewed the emails and decided which ones to hand over to the State Department as part of the official record.</p>
<p>Here’s more from the <em>Times</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
Her expansive use of the private account was alarming to current and former National Archives and Records Administration officials and government watchdogs, who called it a serious breach… Under federal law, however, letters and emails written and received by federal officials, such as the secretary of state, are considered government records and are supposed to be retained so that congressional committees, historians and members of the news media can find them. There are exceptions to the law for certain classified and sensitive materials.
</blockquote>
<p>The <em>Times</em> points out Clinton is not the first government official to use a private email account, but the fact that it functioned as her sole means of emailing is unusual, raising concerns about transparency. Current Secretary of State John Kerry uses an official government account, but “before the current regulations went into effect, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who served from 2001 to 2005, used personal email to communicate with American officials and ambassadors and foreign leaders,” according to the <em>Times</em>. “The existence of Mrs. Clinton’s personal email account was discovered as a House committee investigating the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi sought correspondence between Mrs. Clinton and her aides about the attack.”</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 03:14:23 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/hillary_clinton_only_used_personal_email_as_secretary_of_state.htmlElliot Hannon2015-03-03T03:14:23ZbriefingHillary Clinton Exclusively Used Personal Email Account While Secretary of State227150302011hillary clintonElliot HannonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/hillary_clinton_only_used_personal_email_as_secretary_of_state.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty ImagesHillary Clinton.Ebola Nurse Sues Texas Hospital Where She Contracted Virus Treating a Patienthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/ebola_nurse_nina_pham_sues_texas_hospital_employer.html
<p>The nurse at <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/10/dallas_ebola_timeline_the_many_medical_missteps_at_texas_health_presbyterian.html">the Dallas hospital</a> who was the first to contract Ebola in the United States filed <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/nina-pham-nurse-who-survived-ebola-sues-texas-hospital-n315776">suit</a> on Monday against the hospital. Nina Pham was one of two nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital infected with the Ebola virus after treating Thomas Eric Duncan, who arrived in the United States from Liberia and later began showing symptoms. Duncan later died of the disease; Pham was transferred to the National Institutes of Health, where she was successfully treated.</p>
<p>“Ms. Pham’s suit, filed in State District Court in Dallas, accuses the hospital’s parent company, Texas Health Resources, of negligence, fraud and invasion of privacy,” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/us/nurse-who-contracted-ebola-in-the-us-sues-her-hospital-employer.html?_r=0">the<em> New York Times </em>reports</a>. “Not only did the hospital expose her to a deadly disease, she contends, it also made false statements about her condition and released video of her without her permission.”</p>
<p>“Nina Pham bravely served Texas Health Dallas during a most difficult time,” Texas Health Resources spokesperson Wendell Watson <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/ebola-nurse-dallas-lawsuit">said</a> of the suit. “We continue to support and wish the best for her, and we remain optimistic that constructive dialogue can resolve this matter.”</p>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 02:18:30 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/ebola_nurse_nina_pham_sues_texas_hospital_employer.htmlElliot Hannon2015-03-03T02:18:30ZbriefingEbola Nurse Sues Texas Hospital Where She Contracted Virus Treating a Patient227150302010ebolaElliot HannonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/ebola_nurse_nina_pham_sues_texas_hospital_employer.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty ImagesDallas nurse Nina Pham hugs Barack Obama in the Oval Office.Congressman Infuriates Republicans by Asking Who’s Funding Climate Skeptic Scientistshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/democrats_seek_funding_info_on_scientists_who_deny_human_impact_on_climate.html
<p>Rep. Raul Grijalva, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, wants to know whether money from the energy sector might be&nbsp;<a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/234314-climate-skeptic-blasts-attempt-to-silence-research">influencing scientists who come before Congress</a>&nbsp;to deny climate change. Since asking that question, Grijalva has been accused by fellow lawmakers, and&nbsp;<a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/234126-meteorological-society-climate-research-funding-probe-sends">some scientists</a>, of perpetrating a &quot;witch hunt&quot; that could have a &quot;chilling effect&quot; on scientific exploration.</p>
<p>Rep. Grijalva's questioning comes after <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/us/ties-to-corporate-cash-for-climate-change-researcher-Wei-Hock-Soon.html?_r=0">a lengthy article</a>&nbsp;in the&nbsp;<em>New York Times</em>&nbsp;last month detailed the source of research funds used by&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Soon">Wei-Hock Soon,</a>&nbsp;an aerospace engineer who has testified in several congressional hearings to express doubt that climate change can be attributed to human activity. Soon, who is affiliated with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/">a joint venture of Harvard and the Smithsonian</a>, is responsible for bringing in research dollars to pay his salary and fund his projects. The&nbsp;<em>Times</em>&nbsp;revealed he has received more than $1.2 million from the fossil-fuel industry over the past decade, including at least $230,000 from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. (As the <em>Times</em> notes, part of Koch’s fortune comes from oil refining.)</p>
<p>Grijalva sent letters last week to universities that employ some of the scientists who remain skeptical about the causes of climate change, asking about the sources of their research funds. This sparked accusations of intimidation from the other side of the aisle. Eleven Republican senators, led by James Inhofe of Oklahoma,&nbsp;<a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/234154-gop-deeply-concerned-with-dem-climate-investigation">sent a letter of their own</a>&nbsp;to academic institutions, expressing concern that Grijalva was out to “silence legitimate academic and scientific inquiry.”</p>
<p>The controversy recalls another political dustup over climate change research, when Virginia's then–attorney general, Republican Ken Cuccinelli,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ken-cuccinellis-climate-change-witch-hunt/2012/03/08/gIQApmdu5R_story.html">demanded in 2010 that the University of Virginia turn over emails</a> and other documents related to researcher Michael Mann, in an effort to show that Mann had fabricated evidence that human activity had contributed to climate change. A court later ruled that&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/va-supreme-court-tosses-cuccinellis-case-against-u-va/2012/03/02/gIQAeOqjmR_blog.html">Cuccinelli lacked the authority</a>&nbsp;to compel the university to turn over Mann’s papers.</p>
<p><em>Politico&nbsp;</em>notes that several conservative commentators now criticizing Grijalva&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/climate-change-study-funding-raul-grijalva-115568.html">trumpeted Cuccinelli's probe</a>&nbsp;into Mann’s academic work&nbsp;as a “thorough investigation by someone not in cahoots with the climate mob.”</p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 23:31:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/democrats_seek_funding_info_on_scientists_who_deny_human_impact_on_climate.htmlBeth Ethier2015-03-02T23:31:00ZbriefingCongressman Infuriates Republicans by Asking Who’s Funding Climate Skeptic Scientists227150302009congressclimate changeBeth EthierThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/democrats_seek_funding_info_on_scientists_who_deny_human_impact_on_climate.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesDemocratic Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona.How the DHS Stalemate Ends: In Total Defeat for the GOPhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/dhs_immigration_stalemate_why_the_homeland_security_fight_ends_in_total.html
<p>Congress returned to work this week in the same position it did last week: facing a Friday deadline to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security or watch as the federal agency partially shuts down. But while this week is shaping up to be a repeat of the same <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_immigration_fight_republicans_to_pass_three_week_funding_bill_push_current.html">intraparty GOP showdown</a>, there are a number of telling signs that this round is likely to have a more conclusive ending—one that will come in the form of the long-term funding bill that President Obama and his congressional allies have been demanding for weeks</p>
<p>First, a quick reminder of how we got here: Last Friday, House Speaker John Boehner attempted to avoid the looming partial shutdown of DHS with a three-week funding bill that would have simply ensured that <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_immigration_fight_republicans_to_pass_three_week_funding_bill_push_current.html">Congress found itself right back</a> in the middle of this same immigration fight three weeks down the road. Boehner’s bid, however, unexpectedly and embarrassingly failed when he couldn’t wrangle the support of enough of his party’s rank-and-file, a solid chunk of whom are refusing to fund the department unless President Obama abandons his high-profile immigration reforms. Democrats, who have demanded a long-term deal without strings, were in no mood to help Boehner, and the measure failed 203–224. Then, with the midnight funding deadline fast approaching, Boehner pushed through a one-week funding bill, avoiding the shutdown but prolonging the showdown.</p>
<p>But here’s why this week’s drama may not end with a similar cliffhanger: Boehner wouldn’t have been able to pass the one-week bill without the help of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOUSE_ROLLCALL_HOMELAND_SECURITY_THREE_WEEK_FUNDING_BILL?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">All but 12</a> Democrats voted <em>against</em> the original three-week bill; hours later, <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOUSE_ROLLCALL_HOMELAND_SECURITY_ONE_WEEK_FUNDING_BILL?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">all but five</a> voted <em>for</em> the one-week bill. Without those Democratic votes, the one-week bill meets the same fate as the three-week one. Why the reversal, then? What did Democrats have to gain?</p>
<p>The most obvious answer is that Boehner promised Pelosi what Democrats have wanted all along: a no-strings funding bill that keeps the DHS funded through the end of the fiscal year. While Boehner’s office is denying any such assurances were made, Democrats are treating it like an open secret. “Your vote tonight will assure that we will vote for full funding next week,” <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/john-boehner-dhs-funding-115637.html?hp=rc1_4">Pelosi told her caucus in a letter</a> shortly before Friday’s roll call on the one-week measure. Asked about a deal on Monday, Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, dodged the question with a rhetorical one of his own: “Why do you think that Democrats voted for a one-week [bill]?</p>
<p>Democratic aides, meanwhile, are playing significantly less coy. “I can confirm absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, that Speaker Boehner committed, directly and without any ambiguity, that, in return for Democrats helping him pass the one-week CR, he would bring up the clean, yearlong appropriations bill that passed the Senate Friday and let it pass the House,” <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/234324-hoyer-expects-boehner-will-bring-clean-homeland-security-bill-to-vote">one leadership aide told the<em> Hill</em></a>. “There is no question whatsoever.”</p>
<p>Democrats could be trying to paint the long-term funding bill as a done deal in hopes of making it one. And, of course, even if Boehner explicitly promised a vote—or perhaps simply raised the possibility—there’s nothing that would force him to follow through on it. But, as last week made clear, he’s out of other options. Come Friday, Democrats almost certainly won’t be willing to throw Boehner a second lifeline in the form of support for another short-term funding bill. That leaves the House speaker with only two real options: a partial DHS shutdown, which he’s already gone to great lengths to avoid, or the no-strings longer-term funding bill Senate Republicans approved last week after repeatedly trying and failing to pass a reform-blocking funding bill.<br /> </p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 22:56:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/dhs_immigration_stalemate_why_the_homeland_security_fight_ends_in_total.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-03-02T22:56:00ZbriefingHow the DHS Stalemate Ends: In Total Defeat for the GOP227150302008politicsimmigration reformJosh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/dhs_immigration_stalemate_why_the_homeland_security_fight_ends_in_total.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesJohn Boehner wouldn't have been able to pass his one-week DHS bill without the help of Nancy Pelosi.Can You Spot the Lewinsky Reference Hidden in Bill Clinton’s Official Portrait?http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/bill_clinton_lewinsky_portrait_the_national_portrait_gallery_painting_that.html
<p>Look closely at the above portrait of Bill Clinton. Specifically, look between the fireplace and the plant, exactly where Bill Clinton’s hand is pointing and Hillary Clinton’s gaze is staring. What you should see is the shadow of a dress, not <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/the_great_blue_and_black_versus_white_and_gold_dress_debate.html">white and gold</a>, but just plain blue. The artist behind Bill Clinton’s National Portrait Gallery painting says he snuck a reference to <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/05/07/lewinsky-clinton-scandal-players-where-are-they-now/8807163/">Monica Lewinsky’s infamous stained blue dress</a> into the former president’s official portrait.</p>
<p>The painter, Nelson Shanks, told the <em>Philadelphia Daily News</em> that he intentionally placed a shadow from a blue dress that was meant to represent Lewinsky’s into the painting. More from the <em><a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20150301_POTUS_painter_left_a_brush-off_for__42_.html">Philadelphia Daily News</a></em>:</p>
<blockquote>
He and his administration did some very good things, of course, but I could never get this Monica thing completely out of my mind and it is subtly incorporated in the painting.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
If you look at the left-hand side of it there's a mantle in the Oval Office and I put a shadow coming into the painting and it does two things. It actually literally represents a shadow from a blue dress that I had on a mannequin, that I had there while I was painting it, but not when he was there. It is also a bit of a metaphor in that it represents a shadow on the office he held, or on him.
</blockquote>
<p>Shanks also said that the “Clintons hate the portrait” and have put a lot of pressure on the National Portrait Gallery to have it removed, but a spokeswoman from the museum denied the claim.</p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 21:51:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/bill_clinton_lewinsky_portrait_the_national_portrait_gallery_painting_that.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-03-02T21:51:00ZbriefingCan You Spot the Lewinsky Reference Hidden in Bill Clinton’s Official Portrait?227150302007clintonJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/bill_clinton_lewinsky_portrait_the_national_portrait_gallery_painting_that.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Jonathan Ernst/ReutersHe's pointing right. At. The. Shadow.Report: Coach K Knew about Sexual Assault Allegations for Year Before Dismissing Playerhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/rasheed_sulaimon_report_coach_mike_krzyzewski_and_duke_officials_knew_about.html
<p>Duke University officials, including legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, <a href="http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/03/02/rasheed-sulaimon-center-sexual-assault-allegations-prior-dismissal#.VPStPLPF80p">were reportedly aware of multiple sexual assault allegations</a> against guard Rasheed Sulaimon for nearly a year before dismissing him from the team in January, the <em>Duke Chronicle</em> reported Monday.</p>
<p>Two female students alleged at separate student-led diversity retreats during the 2013–14 school year that Sulaimon had assaulted them, but both students decided not to pursue criminal or disciplinary charges against Sulaimon, partly out of fear of a backlash by Duke fans, the <em>Chronicle</em> reports.</p>
<p>A former team affiliate told the newspaper that Duke’s team psychologist, two assistant coaches, associate head coach Jeff Capel, and Krzyzewski were informed of the allegations last March. The affiliate, who was granted anonymity by the <em>Chronicle</em>, said that athletic department officials and at least one dean were also made aware of the charges.</p>
<p>“Nothing happened after months and months of talking about [the sexual assault allegations],&quot; the anonymous affiliate told the <em>Chronicle</em>. &quot;The University administration knew. &quot;</p>
<p>Even when students don’t file complaints, universities are required by Title IX to investigate allegations of sexual assault. The school said that it takes these steps when necessary, but declined to comment on the individual case of Sulaimon.</p>
<p>“Duke takes immediate action when a student reports allegations of sexual misconduct or other violations of the student conduct code,” the university said in a statement to the newspaper.</p>
<p>A week before Sulaimon was dismissed, a secretary in the Duke basketball office and university senior resigned from his job after informing an administrative assistant that he knew of the allegations. The former secretary told the <em>Chronicle</em>&nbsp;he was later informed that Krzyzewski and school vice president and director of athletics, Kevin White, were aware of the accusations.</p>
<p>On Jan. 29, Sulaimon became the first player in Krzyzewski’s 35-year Duke head coaching tenure to be dismissed from the team. He had a standout freshman season, scoring 11.6 points per game, but his statistics have <a href="http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/61585/rasheed-sulaimon">regressed in the past two seasons</a>.</p>
<p>“Rasheed has been unable to consistently live up to the standards required to be a member of our program,” Krzyzewski said in a press release at the time of Sulaimon’s dismissal. “It is a privilege to represent Duke University and with that privilege comes the responsibility to conduct oneself in a certain manner. After Rasheed repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations, it became apparent that it was time to dismiss him from the program.”</p>
<p>The <em>Chronicle</em> had previously reported that the dismissal was not the result of a single incident, but rather because of a “<a href="https://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/01/29/rasheed-sulaimon-dismissed-duke-basketball-program#.VPTDebPF80p">buildup of issues</a>.”</p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 20:13:54 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/rasheed_sulaimon_report_coach_mike_krzyzewski_and_duke_officials_knew_about.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-03-02T20:13:54ZbriefingReport: Coach K Knew about Sexual Assault Allegations for Year Before Dismissing Player227150302006DukedukeJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/rasheed_sulaimon_report_coach_mike_krzyzewski_and_duke_officials_knew_about.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Don Emmert/AFP/Getty ImagesCoach K.It’s Been 80 Days Since the Last U.S. Military Combat Death. That’s Remarkable.&nbsp;http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/it_s_been_80_days_since_the_last_u_s_military_combat_death_that_s_remarkable.html
<p>The <em>Washington Post</em>’s Dan Lamothe noted a<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/02/26/this-is-the-longest-period-without-a-u-s-military-combat-casualty-since-911/?tid=sm_fb"> pretty incredible milestone last week:</a> Last Wednesday marked 75 days without a U.S. military combat death, the longest period since before 9/11. It hadn’t gone over 50 days since before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The <a href="http://icasualties.org/oef/fatalities.aspx">last U.S. fatalities</a>, Spc. Wyatt Martin and Sgt. 1<sup>st</sup> Class Ramon Morris, were killed by an improvised explosive device in Parwan province, Afghanistan, on Dec. 12.</p>
<p>American civilians have died in combat zones since then, including ISIS prisoners and <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/30/3-american-contractors-killed-by-gunman-in-afghanistan/">contractors killed by the Taliban</a> in Afghanistan, and Congress’s <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/02/12/obama-clay-hunt-act-bill-signing-ceremony/23298971/">passage of a new bill</a> to prevent veteran suicide earlier this month is a good reminder that not all war deaths happen on the battlefield. But this is still a remarkable and long-overdue development.</p>
<p>It also comes at a time when the U.S. military is ramping up involvement in the ISIS conflict, maintaining a presence in Afghanistan that’s <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/13/why_the_wording_of_the_isis_war_resolution_doesn_t_matter.html">not technically a combat role</a> but still involves a fair amount of combat, and waging an <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/01/27/did_obama_s_drone_war_help_cause_yemen_s_collapse.html">ongoing drone campaign</a> in Yemen. Meanwhile, neither Congress nor the White House seems to be in much of a hurry to <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/10/after_six_months_of_bombing_isis_obama_is_finally_asking_congress_for_permission.html">place limits</a> on the use of the American military or even define the conflicts it’s fighting.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Lamothe’s article was pegged to a panel discussion in Washington at which the father of a U.S. airman killed in Afghanistan questioned a self-described “hawkish” congressman, Rep. Adam Kinzinger*, on whether he was aware of how long it had been since a soldier was killed. (He was not.) “When you talk about being a hawk, maybe that is something that you’d really want to keep track of,” the father, Fred Boenig, told the congressman.</p>
<p>While it’s absolutely encouraging that American soldiers are dying less often after a draining and bloody decade, it would be a mistake for political leaders to take this to mean that war can be waged indefinitely without consequences.</p>
<p><strong>Update</strong>: This post originally misspelled Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s last name.</p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 19:36:21 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/it_s_been_80_days_since_the_last_u_s_military_combat_death_that_s_remarkable.htmlJoshua Keating2015-03-02T19:36:21ZbriefingIt’s Been 80 Days Since the Last U.S. Military Combat Death. That’s Remarkable.&nbsp;227150302005Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/it_s_been_80_days_since_the_last_u_s_military_combat_death_that_s_remarkable.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesAn honor guard team carries the casket of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ramon Morris, during his burial service at Arlington National Cemetery on Jan. 23, 2015, in Arlington, Virginia.&nbsp;Mysterious Tunnel Was Really Just a Harmless “Man Cave,” Say Policehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/toronto_tunnel_mystery_police_solve_mystery_says_it_was_harmless_man_cave.html
<p>Canada’s Great Tunnel Mystery is no longer a whodunit—but it appears destined to remain a head-scratcher nonetheless.</p>
<p>Toronto police announced Monday that they had found the two men who were responsible for digging the elaborate tunnel that briefly piqued the Internet’s interest last week. After speaking with them, however, officers decided that the men had gone through all that trouble for “personal reasons,” and that there was nothing more to worry about.</p>
<p>“It’s very strange. I’m not going to say it’s not,” <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/02/toronto-tunnel-police-say-investigation-is-over-after-two-men-confess-they-dug-hole-for-personal-reasons/">Detective Scott Whittemore told the <em>National Post</em> on Monday</a>. “The big question is ‘Why?’ You know, having worked in homicide for six years, a lot times the question ‘Why did this happen?’ is very rarely answered. You just try to deal with what you’ve got. But that’s the million-dollar question.” Whittemore described the two amateur excavators as “just blue collar guys” in their early 20s who were not professional tunnelers or engineers. “They were forthright and kind of — I don’t know what the word is — apologetic,” the detective told the paper.</p>
<p>The unidentified pair won’t face criminal charges for digging the 30-odd-foot tunnel that was found near York University and the Rexall Centre, which will host the 2015 Pan American Games this summer. The reason for that, as Deputy Chief <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/02/americas/canada-mystery-tunnel/index.html">Mark Saunders put it simply last week</a>: “There is no criminal offense for digging a hole.” If the cops wanted to be sticklers, they could probably find a minor mischief-related charge or two, but they have no interest in that. “There’s no sense wasting the court's time,” Whittemore said Monday.</p>
<p>For those of who missed it last week (I don’t know, perhaps <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/02/27/the_dress_and_the_llamas_no_the_media_isn_t_going_overboard.html">you were distracted elsewhere</a>), police went public with the tunnel after discovering it last month when a conservation worker stumbled across it. Officials turned to the public to help them solve the mystery, and that’s ultimately what happened. Given its location near the Rexall Centre, there had been some speculation that the tunnel—which experts said likely took weeks to build—could have been terrorism-related, although police never seemed overly concerned on that front.</p>
<p>“It is simply two guys who just wanted to dig a cave,” Toronto police spokesman <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-tunnel-dug-by-2-men-as-man-cave-police-say-1.2978109">Victor Kwong told CBC News</a>. “That really is what our investigation has led to ...&nbsp;they just wanted to dig a cave to hang out.” The two men, however, will need to find a new place to do just that—police have since filled in their tunnel.<br /> </p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:05:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/toronto_tunnel_mystery_police_solve_mystery_says_it_was_harmless_man_cave.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-03-02T18:05:00ZbriefingCanada’s Mysterious Tunnel Was Really Just a Harmless “Man Cave,” Say Police227150302004Josh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/toronto_tunnel_mystery_police_solve_mystery_says_it_was_harmless_man_cave.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Toronto skyline as not seen from the young gentlemen’s “man cave.”What Does it Mean for the Leader of a Foreign Country to Be a Republican?http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/netanyahu_in_washington_what_does_it_mean_for_the_leader_of_a_foreign_country.html
<p>In his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected charges that he is injecting partisanship into the U.S.-Israel relationship. “The last thing anyone who cares about&nbsp;Israel, the last thing that I would want, is for Israel to become a partisan issue, and I regret that some people have misperceived my visit here this week as doing that,” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/world/middleeast/white-house-and-netanyahu-aipac-conference.html?smid=tw-share">he said</a>. “Israel has always been a bipartisan issue. Israel should always remain a bipartisan issue.”</p>
<p>It’s a little late for that, Bibi. Tuesday, Netanyahu is giving what was billed from the moment it was announced as a rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union address. Much of the controversy surrounding the visit has been over the perceived mutual snubbing and sniping between Netanyahu’s office and the White House and what it says about the relationship between the two leaders. (Nothing good.) But the bigger story is Netanyahu firmly aligning himself in the camp of one of America’s political parties to the exclusion of the other one—a strategy that could, in the long term, be extremely detrimental to Israel’s interests.</p>
<p>Given the “<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/obama-cites-very-real-difference-netanyahu-over-iran-sanctions-n302991">very real difference</a>” between Obama and Netanyahu over Iran’s nuclear program, the Israeli leader’s decision to accept John Boehner’s invitation to address Congress made some tactical sense. Netanyahu believes Obama is on the verge of making a historically dangerous deal with Iran and doesn’t see any prospect for changing his mind. Given that his officials say he’s “<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/the-crisis-in-us-israel-relations-is-officially-here/382031/">written off</a>” Obama and doesn’t see any chance of changing his mind, why not reach out to Congress, the “<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/01/us-usa-israel-official-idUSKBN0LX1U220150301">last brake</a>” to stop the deal, diplomatic niceties be damned?</p>
<p>But even if he’s not particularly interested in what the White House thinks of him at this point, what’s harder to understand is the cold shoulder Netanyahu has given congressional Democrats, some of whom have been willing in the past to push back against the White House on the Iran issue. The most striking moment in this whole mess was not so much Netanyahu accepting Boehner’s invitation, though that could certainly have been handled more deftly. It was when Netanyahu <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/israeli-pm-netanyhau-declines-invite-senate-democrats-n312336">declined a closed-door</a> meeting with congressional Democrats. This would seem to have been a welcome opportunity for some fence-mending given that a number of <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/patrick-leahy-skip-netanyahu-speech-115058.html">prominent members of Congress</a>, including the most senior senator, Patrick Leahy, and a number of members of the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/benjamin-netanyahu-congressional-black-caucus-115103.html">Congressional Black Caucus</a>, are skipping his speech over the perceived insult to Obama. Instead, Netanyahu dug in deeper, making the long-standing joke about Netanyahu being the “Republican senator” from Israel seeming not really like a joke anymore.</p>
<p>It’s one of the necessary hypocrisies of diplomacy between democracies that governments have to pretend they don’t have a stake in each other’s domestic politics. Sometimes they don’t do a particularly good job of selling the fiction. Other European governments clearly hoped Greek voters would elect someone other than the left-wing Syriza party during last month’s election, for instance. Obama was, himself, the beneficiary of <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/05/03/is-there-a-reason-world-leaders-shouldnt-endorse-each-other/">several de facto endorsements</a> from European leaders in 2008. The U.S.-Israel relationship <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/12/02/better-off-with-bibi-israel-politics-elections/">hasn’t been immune</a> from this kind of gamesmanship either: George H.W. Bush fairly transparently attempted to tip the scales in favor of Yitzhak Rabin over Yitzhak Shamir in 1991, and Bill Clinton tried unsuccessfully to do the same for Shimon Peres over Netanyahu in 1996.</p>
<p>What <em>is </em>unprecedented is the extent to which Netanyahu has firmly allied himself with one American party over another—not just during an election but in the making of policy. At this point, U.S. domestic politics are probably a better lens for analyzing Netanyahu’s actions than foreign policy: He’s interacting with the White House less in the manner of Fran&ccedil;ois Hollande or David Cameron than in that of Mitch McConnell or John Boehner.</p>
<p>Pragmatism would seem to argue against this approach: Foreign leaders don’t have much influence over other countries’ voters, and they’re going to have to deal with whoever is in power. Angela Merkel clearly didn’t want Fran&ccedil;ois Hollande to be elected and <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204740904577190293163105890">backed his opponent</a>, Nicolas Sarkozy, to an unusual extent in 2012. But while the two <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/crisis-of-confidence-develops-between-merkel-and-hollande-a-862644.html">clearly aren’t overly fond</a> of each other, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11392108/Ukraine-crisis-Angela-Merkel-and-Francois-Hollande-to-fly-to-Russia-live.html">they’ve found ways</a> to work together. Narendra Modi wasn’t even allowed to enter the United States until a few months ago, but the U.S.-India relationship has <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/01/23/republic_day_why_obama_s_visit_to_india_is_such_a_big_deal.html">actually improved</a> since he came into office. Margaret Thatcher may have been ideologically simpatico with Ronald Reagan’s Republicans, but <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51579.html">she got along decently</a> with Jimmy Carter as well.</p>
<p>But Netanyahu, who appointed a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/26/world/middleeast/israels-outspoken-envoy-is-wise-to-us-ways.html">former GOP pollster</a> as his ambassador to Washington, is taking a different, and historically unusual, approach—essentially aligning Israel’s interests with the fortunes of one American political party.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Even the right-leaning, pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC seems baffled by this approach, with one official telling the <em>Atlantic</em>’s Jeffrey Goldberg last week, “[Ambassador Ron] Dermer and Netanyahu don’t believe that Democrats are capable of being pro-Israel, which is crazy for a lot of reasons, but one of the main reasons is that most Jews are Democrats.”</p>
<p>Indeed, it is bizarre with for the leader of a country with a stake in U.S. political debates to write off one of America’s political parties, and even stranger for the leader of Israel to write off the party that <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/">70 percent of American Jews</a> support. With polls showing younger and more secular American Jews less attached to Israel than their parents, we’re quickly drifting toward a place where Orthodox Jews, who tend to lean further to the right, and the <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/03/more-white-evangelicals-than-american-jews-say-god-gave-israel-to-the-jewish-people/">Christian right</a>, replace the broader American Jewish community as Israel’s most enthusiastic U.S. supporters. That cannot be good for Israel.</p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 17:52:55 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/netanyahu_in_washington_what_does_it_mean_for_the_leader_of_a_foreign_country.htmlJoshua Keating2015-03-02T17:52:55ZbriefingNetanyahu Says He’s Not Trying to Make Israel a Partisan Issue in America. Too Late.227150302003Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/netanyahu_in_washington_what_does_it_mean_for_the_leader_of_a_foreign_country.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves after speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee 2015 Policy Conference on March 2, 2015, in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;You’ll Never Guess Who Cleveland Says Is to Blame for Police Killing 12-Year-Old Tamir Ricehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/cleveland_tamir_rice_police_says_12_year_old_tamir_rice_was_directly_and.html
<p>The city of Cleveland has decided who to blame for the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was holding a toy gun when he was shot by police this past November: Tamir Rice.<br /> </p>
<p>That defense was one of 20 put forward by the city late last week in response to a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Rice’s family. In the legal filings, the city claims that Rice and his family bear responsibility for any damages, injuries, and losses that resulted from the boy’s shooting death at the hands of the police. Those damages, in the city’s words, were “<a href="http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2015/02/city_of_cleveland_responds_to.html">directly and proximately caused by their own acts</a>”—not by the officer <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/11/26/tamir_rice_shooting_video_cleveland_cops_takes_a_few_seconds_before_shooting.html">who opened fire literally seconds</a> after arriving at the scene. The city also claims that the boy’s shooting death was caused by his failure “to exercise due care to avoid injury.”</p>
<p>Rice was holding a pellet gun when he was killed by officer Tim Loehmann. As difficult as it is to watch, I’m embedding the video of the shooting here:</p>
<p>Loehmann had previously quit a job at a nearby police department after a supervisor there identified a number of “deficiencies” in his performance and <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/12/03/previous_boss_of_officer_who_shot_12_year_old_recommended_he_be_fired.html">recommended that he no longer be employed</a>. The officer’s personnel file <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/12/cleveland_police_officer_who_s.html#incart_m-rpt-1">from November 2012 found that the officer</a> “could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal.”</p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2015/02/city_of_cleveland_responds_to.html">Cleveland.com explains</a>, Cleveland’s court filing is light on specifics, something that the city has attributed to the fact that the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office has not yet finished its own investigation.</p>
<p>The Rice family’s legal team responded about how you’d expect. “What they said is incredulous at best. It’s unbelievable,” attorney Walter Madison <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/03/02/tamir-rice-family-attorney-says-unbelievable-that-city-of-cleveland-court-filing-blames-tamir-for-his-own-death/">told the <em>Washington Post</em> in an interview Monday</a>. “There are a number of things that we in society don’t allow 12-year-olds to do. We don’t allow them to vote, we don’t allow them to drink. In court we don’t try them as adults. They don’t have the capacity to understand the consequences of their actions.”</p>
<p>City officials had declined to elaborate on the legal defense, but the chief of the local police union didn't hesitate to blame the boy during a recent interview with Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist in Cleveland. “Tamir Rice is in the wrong,”&nbsp;Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/tamir-rice-cleveland-police-115401_full.html#.VPSytlPF9Zk">president Steve Loomis told Schultz</a>. “He’s menacing. He’s 5-feet-7, 191 pounds. He wasn’t that little kid you’re seeing in pictures. He’s a 12-year-old in an adult body.”</p>
<p>Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson told reporters on Monday afternoon that the city was <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/02/us/cleveland-tamir-rice-shooting/index.html">apologizing to the Rice family and the city</a> &quot;for our poor use or words and our insensitivity.&quot;</p>
<p><em>This post has been updated with additional information to include the quote from the police union chief and the mayor.</em><br /> <br /> </p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 16:37:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/cleveland_tamir_rice_police_says_12_year_old_tamir_rice_was_directly_and.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-03-02T16:37:00ZbriefingCleveland’s Found Someone to Blame for Tamir Rice’s Death: Tamir Rice227150302002Josh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/cleveland_tamir_rice_police_says_12_year_old_tamir_rice_was_directly_and.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Jordan Gonzalez/AFP/Getty ImagesA man holds a sign in Cleveland on Nov. 25, 2014, referring to the fatal shooting Nov. 23 of Tamir Rice.How Obama Will Use the DOJ’s Civil Rights Probe to Reform the Ferguson PDhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/doj_ferguson_civil_rights_investigation_how_obama_will_will_use_the_report.html
<p>The Justice Department is <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FERGUSON_NEWS_GUIDE?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">reportedly</a> putting the finishing touches on the parallel investigations it launched in the wake of 18-year-old Michael Brown’s shooting death in Ferguson, Missouri, this past summer. The results of the first of those investigations—into whether civil rights charges should be filed against Darren Wilson, the officer who killed Brown—is largely a formality at this point. That was always <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/darren_wilson_no_true_bill_why_cops_are_almost_never_indicted_for_shooting.html">going to be a long shot</a>, and law enforcement officials have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/us/justice-department-ferguson-civil-rights-darren-wilson.html">already signaled that charges are unlikely</a>.</p>
<p>The drama instead lies in the second investigation, which is a broader look into how the Ferguson Police Department does business. <a href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/03/02/us/justice-department-report-to-fault-police-in-ferguson.html?_r=0">According to the <em>New York Times</em></a>, that report, which could come as soon as this week, will almost certainly be highly critical of the department. Here’s the Grey Lady with the details:</p>
<blockquote>
While the Justice Department’s exact findings are not yet known, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who is expected to leave office in the next few weeks, and other officials have said publicly that their investigation has focused on the use of excessive force and the treatment of prisoners in local jails as well as the traffic stops. …
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Blacks accounted for 86 percent of traffic stops in 2013 but make up 63 percent of the population, according to the most recent data published by the Missouri attorney general. And once they were stopped, black drivers were twice as likely to be searched, even though searches of white drivers were more likely to turn up contraband.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
For people in Ferguson who cannot afford to pay their tickets, routine traffic stops can become yearslong ordeals, with repeated imprisonments because of mounting fines. Such fines are the city’s second-largest source of revenue after sales tax. Federal investigators say that has provided a financial incentive to continue law enforcement policies that unfairly target African-Americans.
</blockquote>
<p>The release of the DOJ report is only a first step toward fixing the police department—but it’s nonetheless a crucial one. Assuming Holder does indeed conclude that there was a pattern of misconduct by the Ferguson PD, the report will give President Obama the ability to force widespread reforms within the department with the help of a law passed in the wake of the Rodney King beating.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/ferguson_police_reform_how_the_justice_department_could_revamp_the_ferguson.html">I explained this past summer</a>, the law in question effectively leaves the city of Ferguson with two options: 1) Local officials can either enter into what is known as a “consent decree” with the feds that would mandate a specific set of reforms that would then be overseen by an independent court-appointed monitor, or 2) The city can refuse and instead face an almost certain federal civil rights lawsuit.</p>
<p>City officials haven’t said whether they’ll take the easy path or the more difficult one. But faced with the possibility of a costly court battle, most cities have historically taken the path of least resistance and signed on the decree’s dotted lines. Ferguson officials probably wouldn’t buck that trend. (There are exceptions to every rule, of course. The DOJ currently has four such lawsuits open, according to the <em>Times</em>, including one against Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona.)</p>
<p>To get an idea of what such a consent decree might <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/ferguson_police_reform_how_the_justice_department_could_revamp_the_ferguson.html">look like, I spoke with Samuel Walker</a>, the emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, this past summer. Each settlement is unique, but generally speaking they last a minimum of five years and ensure that the reform process is a public one. The agreed-upon reforms have historically covered three main areas, according to Walker: overhauling of the department’s use-of-force policies, including how such incidents are investigated internally; enacting an early-intervention system that relies on a variety of data, ranging from citizen complaints against an officer to the demographics of his or her traffic stops; and creating a clear, open process through which citizens&nbsp;can lodge complaints when they feel they’ve been mistreated.</p>
<p>In the past two decades, more than 20 cities have entered into such agreements with the federal government—both big cities like Los Angeles and New Orleans and smaller ones closer in size to Ferguson, like East Haven, Connecticut, and Steubenville, Ohio. While the results are mixed, there is precedent for significant reforms. The best-documented example of such an effort succeeding is, somewhat remarkably, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/ferguson_police_reform_how_the_justice_department_could_revamp_the_ferguson.html">in Los Angeles</a>, where the beating of King by police helped prompt passage of the federal law in the first place.</p>
<p>For more on the upcoming report, <a href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/03/02/us/justice-department-report-to-fault-police-in-ferguson.html?_r=0">check out the <em>Times</em> article</a>. For more on consent decrees, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/ferguson_police_reform_how_the_justice_department_could_revamp_the_ferguson.html">check out my piece</a> from this past summer.<br /> </p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:42:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/doj_ferguson_civil_rights_investigation_how_obama_will_will_use_the_report.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-03-02T15:42:00ZbriefingThe DOJ Is About to Release Its Ferguson Report. Here’s How Obama Will Use It as a Hammer.227150302001Josh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/02/doj_ferguson_civil_rights_investigation_how_obama_will_will_use_the_report.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Scott Olson/Getty ImagesPolice stand guard before the mandatory midnight curfew on Aug. 16, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.L.A. Police Caught on Video Shooting Homeless Man to Deathhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/video_shows_lapd_shooting_and_killing_homeless_man.html
<p>Los Angeles police shot and killed a homeless man on Sunday during a disturbing confrontation that was caught on video. The video, which was posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1009126519115252&amp;pnref=story">Facebook</a> (and contains lots of cursing) shows a group of police officers get into a struggle with a man who is on a sidewalk next to tents. It begins with the man apparently swinging violently toward the officers. One of the officers drops his nightstick, which is picked up by a woman, who is then violently handcuffed. Then what looks like four officers continue to struggle with the man and at one point it sounds as if one of the officers yells, “Drop the gun! Drop the gun!” At that point, at least five gunshots are heard although from the recording it isn’t clear whether more than one officer opened fire.</p>
<p>The <em><a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-police-fatally-shoot-homeless-man-20150301-story.html">Los Angeles Times</a> </em>talks to witnesses who say the victim was a homeless man known as “Africa” but no one really has an explanation for what actually happened. One witness said Africa had been fighting with someone in his tent and then lunged at the officers when they tried to break up the fight. That is the same version that another witness recounts to <a href="http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/03/01/altercation-in-downtown-la-prompts-officer-involved-shooting/">CBS</a>. “Next thing I know,” said the witness, “dude swung on a cop and the cop swung back. And they were hitting on him and then two other cop cars pulled up and they got out of the car and ran over there, and they had three tasers out.” &nbsp;</p>
<p>Another witness tells the <em><a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-police-fatally-shoot-homeless-man-20150301-story.html">Los Angeles Times</a></em> Africa tried to grab a weapon from a police officer while a resident in the area claims police already had Africa in their sights because they had asked him repeatedly to take down his tent. “This man got shot over a tent,” the witness said. Police have yet to confirm how many rounds were fired. </p>Mon, 02 Mar 2015 04:53:43 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/video_shows_lapd_shooting_and_killing_homeless_man.htmlDaniel Politi2015-03-02T04:53:43ZbriefingL.A. Police Caught on Video Shooting Homeless Man to Death227150301006Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/video_shows_lapd_shooting_and_killing_homeless_man.htmlfalsefalsefalseScott Walker Flip-Flops on Immigration: “My View Has Changed”http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/scott_walker_says_his_mind_has_changed_on_immigration.html
<p>Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he has changed his mind about immigration policy and no longer believes there is a way in which the 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally can embark on a path to citizenship. He has expressed that view in the past but now labels it as “amnesty,” which he is against.<br /> </p>
<p>“I don’t believe in amnesty,” Walker, who <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/rand_paul_wins_2015_cpac_straw_poll_scott_walker_finishes_second.html">came in second in the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll</a>, told <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/01/walker-my-view-has-changed-on-immigration-reform/">Fox News</a>. “'My view has changed. I’m flat out saying it. Candidates can say that.” Walker only acknowledged that his mind had changed after host Chris Wallace pressed him on a clip from 2013, in which he told a Wisconsin newspaper that “it makes sense” to allow undocumented citizens a path to citizenship.</p>
<p>“We need to secure the border,” Walker said. “We ultimately need to put in place a system that works—a legal immigration system that works.” Part of the reason why his mind has changed, according to Walker, is that “I’ve talked to governors on the border and others out there.”</p>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 22:53:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/scott_walker_says_his_mind_has_changed_on_immigration.htmlDaniel Politi2015-03-01T22:53:00ZbriefingScott Walker Flip-Flops on Immigration: “My View Has Changed”227150301005Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/scott_walker_says_his_mind_has_changed_on_immigration.htmlfalsefalsefalse1519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40873497590011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40873497590011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40873497590011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40873497590011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40873497590011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO4087349759001Photo by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesWisconsin Governor Scott Walker speaks at the American Action Forum on January 30, 2015 in Washington, D.C.Tens of Thousands March in Moscow to Remember Murdered Putin Critichttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/boris_nemtsov_tens_of_thousands_march_in_moscow.html
<p>“I am not afraid,” “propaganda kills,” and “I am Boris Nemtsov” were just some of the banners that tens of thousands of people carried through the streets of downtown Moscow on Sunday to remember murdered opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down Friday night near the Kremlin. Many in the crowd also carried the Russian flag and a picture of Nemtsov as they marched toward the spot where he was killed, in what was the highest-profile political murder in more than a decade. “The mood was more one of quiet dismay rather than explosive anger,” notes the <em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/01/boris-nemtsov-murdered-politician-march-moscow">Guardian</a></em>.</p>
<p>The memorial march took the place of the opposition rally that was originally scheduled for Sunday but was called off after Nemtsov’s murder. “Although the crowds were larger than recent opposition protests, few in attendance thought that it was the beginning of a new push against the Kremlin,” notes the <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/mourning-a-slain-opposition-leader-many-russians-fear-the-future/2015/03/01/5682ce22-be96-11e4-9dfb-03366e719af8_story.html">Washington Post</a></em>. “Instead, many said that the slaying was a frightening sign that those who disagree with Russia’s aggressive mainstream risk their lives for saying so publicly.”</p>
<p>Many in the crowd were angry that Putin’s recent policies have created a “fervently nationalist mood,” as the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31677506">BBC</a> puts it, that labels anyone who disagrees with the Kremlin as a traitor. “If we can stop the campaign of hate that's being directed at the opposition, then we have a chance to change Russia. If not, then we face the prospect of mass civil conflict,” an opposition leader told <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/01/us-russia-nemtsov-idUSKBN0LV2LA20150301">Reuters</a>. There is no official figure on turnout and estimates range from 16,000 to 70,000.</p>
<p>Nemtsov’s murder was reportedly caught by surveillance cameras, and the images appear to reinforce the idea that it was carried out by professional assassins. The <em><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11443465/50000-march-in-silence-over-killing-of-Kremlin-critic.html">Telegraph</a> </em>explains:</p>
<blockquote>
The grainy video, recorded from the other side of the Moskva River and broadcast by the Moscow city government television station, contradicts earlier reports that Nemtsov was killed by assailants shooting from a passing vehicle.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Instead, the assassin apparently hid in a stairwell leading off down from bridge. As Nemtsov passed, the killer emerged and began shooting at Nemtsov’s back, killing him with four pistol rounds. He then hurriedly climbed into an arriving getaway car, and was driven away.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“You would have needed to coordinate very closely between Nemtsov and the car … It is clear that it was a very sophisticated and professional killing,” said Andrey Soldatov, a Russian security expert. Up to 15 people working in three teams could have been involved, he said.
</blockquote>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 21:08:51 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/boris_nemtsov_tens_of_thousands_march_in_moscow.htmlDaniel Politi2015-03-01T21:08:51ZbriefingTens of Thousands March in Moscow to Remember Murdered Putin Critic227150301004Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/boris_nemtsov_tens_of_thousands_march_in_moscow.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alexander Utkin/AFP/Getty ImagesRussia's opposition supporters take part in a march in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov in central Moscow on March 1, 2015. &nbsp;Vince Vaughn, Lady Gaga Take a Dip in Icy Lake Michigan for Polar Plungehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/vince_vaughn_lady_gaga_take_a_dip_in_icy_lake_michigan_for_polar_plunge.html
<p>He didn’t do it in a suit, &agrave; la Jimmy Fallon last year, but actor Vince Vaughn was the celebrity guest of honor at the 15<sup>th</sup> annual Polar Plunge in Chicago. And Lady Gaga just showed up for kicks. The annual event raises money for the Special Olympics, and the organization used social media to recruit the actor with the hashtag #VinnyDippin, reports the <em><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-actor-vince-vaughn-ready-to-make-icy-plunge-in-lake-michigan-20150301-story.html">Chicago Tribune</a></em>.</p>
<p>Lady Gaga made the surprise appearance alongside her fianc&eacute;, <em>Chicago Fire </em>actor Taylor Kinney. Lady Gaga entered the water on Kinney’s shoulders, reports <a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Was-Lady-Gaga-at-the-Polar-Plunge-294564721.html">NBC</a>, which points out the actor was scheduled to participate with two of his co-stars. More than 4,500 people took part in the plunge, according to the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLAR_PLUNGE_CHICAGO?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Associated Press</a>.</p>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:22:23 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/vince_vaughn_lady_gaga_take_a_dip_in_icy_lake_michigan_for_polar_plunge.htmlDaniel Politi2015-03-01T18:22:23ZbriefingVince Vaughn, Lady Gaga Take a Dip in Icy Lake Michigan for Polar Plunge227150301003Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/vince_vaughn_lady_gaga_take_a_dip_in_icy_lake_michigan_for_polar_plunge.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesVince Vaughn participates in the Chicago Polar Plunge 2015 at North Avenue Beach on March 1, 2015, in Chicago. &nbsp;Almost Half of Voters Say GOP Shouldn’t Have Invited Netanyahu to Congresshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/almost_half_of_voters_say_gop_shouldn_t_have_invited_netanyahu_to_congress.html
<p>Nearly half of U.S. voters—48 percent—say Republican lawmakers shouldn’t have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without first getting the OK from President Barack Obama, according to a <em><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/03/01/nearly-half-of-voters-disapprove-of-gops-netanyahu-invite/">Wall Street Journal</a></em>/<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/poll-nearly-half-americans-take-issue-netanyahu-speech-n315071">NBC News</a> poll. Three in 10 voters, meanwhile, said the invitation seemed fine to them, and 22 percent said they had no idea. As could be expected, the divide is largely along party lines, as 66 percent of Democrats disapprove of the invite compared with 28 percent of Republicans.</p>
<p>Meanwhile there are increasing signs that Netanyahu’s speech on Tuesday, when he is expected to lobby for tougher sanctions on Iran, could mark a breaking point for Israel’s relationship with the United States. “While U.S. and Israeli officials insist that key areas of cooperation from counter-terrorism to intelligence to cyber security will remain unaffected, the deepening divide over the Iran talks is shaping up as the worst in decades,” notes <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/01/us-usa-israel-idUSKBN0LX13D20150301">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>Netanyahu left Israel on Sunday morning vowing to go ahead with his planned speech. “I’m going to Washington on a fateful, even historic, mission. I feel deep and sincere concern for the security of Israel’s citizens and for the fate of the state and of all our people,” Netanyahu said, according to the <em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/01/netanyahu-to-arrive-in-washington-to-deliver-controversial-congress-speech">Guardian</a></em>. “I will do everything in my power to ensure our future.” Some, however, are saying that Netanyahu “may have overplayed his hand,” as <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/01/politics/benjamin-netanyahu-israel-congress/">CNN</a> puts it, and the whole thing could backfire; he has managed to turn potentially friendly Democrats against him.<br /> </p>
<p>Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to try to tone down any suggestion of tensions on Sunday. “The prime minister of Israel is welcome to speak in the United States, obviously,” Kerry told <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-kerry-benjamin-netanyahu-visit-great-political-football/story?id=29308403">ABC</a>. He did note it “was odd, if not unique, that we learned of it from the speaker of the House” but also warned “we don't want to see this turned into some great political football.”</p>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 17:11:36 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/almost_half_of_voters_say_gop_shouldn_t_have_invited_netanyahu_to_congress.htmlDaniel Politi2015-03-01T17:11:36ZbriefingAlmost Half of Voters Say GOP Shouldn’t Have Invited Netanyahu to Congress227150301002Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/almost_half_of_voters_say_gop_shouldn_t_have_invited_netanyahu_to_congress.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Amos Ben Gershom/GPO via Getty ImagesPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah leave Tel Aviv on their way to Washington D.C., on March 1, 2015. &nbsp;Rand Paul Beats Out Scott Walker in CPAC Straw Poll (Bush Comes in Fifth)http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/rand_paul_beats_out_scott_walker_at_cpac.html
<p>Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won the Conservative Political Action Conference for the third time in a row this year with 25.7 percent of the vote, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker received 21.4 percent. It may be his third victory, but judging by the CPAC numbers, his star among the conservative base is waning. His support declined from last year, when he got 31 percent of the vote, reports <em><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/115619.html?hp=t2_r">Politico</a></em>. The poll of the 3,007 conference attendees rarely serves as an indication of who will win the Republican nomination. But in this case, “Walker's second place finish is another sign his popularity is surging amongst influential conservative activists,” notes <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/rand-paul-edges-out-scott-walker-cpac-poll-n314871">NBC News</a>.</p>
<p>Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who isn’t particularly popular with the conservatives, tried to make a strong showing and poured money into sponsoring buses for supporters. But in the end he could only muster fifth place with 8 percent of the vote. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz came in third with 12 percent, and Ben Carson received 11 percent. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, meanwhile, continues to see his popularity fall, taking seventh place with 4 percent of the vote, a marked decline from the 23 percent he received in 2013.</p>
<p>Looking so carefully at the numbers misses the larger picture, because CPAC really isn’t just a preview of the primaries. The <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/02/28/rand-paul-wins-cpac-straw-poll-narrowly-topping-walker/?hpid=z3">Washington Post</a> </em>explains:</p>
<blockquote>
The event—which is sponsored by think tanks, conservative Web sites and influential interest groups like the National Rifle Association—is really more about theater, a forum for budding presidential candidates to road-test ideas. And in that regard, this year’s gathering did not disappoint.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Some of the excitement had to do with the fact that organizers changed the format of the event from previous years. Rather than just deliver speeches, candidates were expected to take questions from the audience—a twist that helped some candidates, but hurt others.
</blockquote>Sun, 01 Mar 2015 13:54:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/rand_paul_beats_out_scott_walker_at_cpac.htmlDaniel Politi2015-03-01T13:54:00ZbriefingRand Paul Beats Out Scott Walker in CPAC Straw Poll (Bush Comes in Fifth)227150301001Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/01/rand_paul_beats_out_scott_walker_at_cpac.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesSen. Rand Paul addresses the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 27, 2015, in National Harbor, Maryland. &nbsp;Rand Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll for Third Timehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/rand_paul_wins_2015_cpac_straw_poll_scott_walker_finishes_second.html
<p>In a performance worthy of <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/">Groundhog Day</a></em>, Rand Paul <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/28/cpac-2015-see-the-full-straw-poll-results/">won the CPAC straw poll</a> on Saturday for the third time. The libertarian-leaning Kentucky senator, who had previously won the poll in 2013 and 2014, claimed 25.7 percent of the vote. His father, former Rep. Ron Paul, won it twice (in 2010 and 2011). Thus, Rand makes history as the winningest Paul in the CPAC straw poll’s storied existence.</p>
<p>But hold on to your <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=rand+paul+turtleneck&amp;es_sm=119&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=90DyVJ3nK4nksATzjICwAQ&amp;ved=0CAkQ_AUoAw&amp;biw=1201&amp;bih=632">turtlenecks</a>; this doesn’t necessarily mean that he gets to be president. Former winners include George Allen, Gary Bauer, Phil Gramm, and other noncommanders-in-chief. But it certainly doesn’t hurt Paul’s prospects in the 2016 GOP nominating race.</p>
<p>Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s second-place finish, 4 points behind the tousley-locked senator, is probably a bigger deal than Paul’s win. Paul was kind of a shoo-in, and Walker’s silver medal shows that the CPAC audience wasn’t quite as perturbed as the national political media over his <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/02/scott_walker_didn_t_compare_unions_to_isis_he_just_said_something_foolish.html">unfortunate juxtaposition</a> of Wisconsin pro-union protesters and ISIS.</p>
<p>Sen. Ted Cruz tailed in a distant third with 11.5 percent, 10 points behind Walker and just one-tenth of a point ahead of <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/ben_carson_cpac_leaflet_quotes_alexis_de_tocqueville_except_de_tocqueville.html">Tocqueville-quote–fabricator</a> Ben Carson. The results have to be even more disappointing for Mike Huckabee, who quit his Fox News show to make noise about running for president and only got 0.3 percent of the vote, and for Chris Christie, who got just 2.8 percent and lagged behind Donald Trump. Jeb Bush had a stronger showing with a fifth place finish at 8.3 percent, likely due in part to the fact that <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/jeb_bush_at_cpac_backers_of_the_former_florida_governor_are_busing_supporters.html">his backers bused in supporters from K Street</a> and Georgetown and got them day passes to watch his speech.&nbsp;</p>Sat, 28 Feb 2015 23:30:15 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/rand_paul_wins_2015_cpac_straw_poll_scott_walker_finishes_second.htmlBetsy Woodruff2015-02-28T23:30:15ZbriefingRand Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll for Third Time227150228004CPAC straw pollBetsy WoodruffThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/rand_paul_wins_2015_cpac_straw_poll_scott_walker_finishes_second.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThey love him.Murdered Russian Opposition Leader Was Planning to Release Information on Ukraine Conflicthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/boris_nemtsov_murdered_russian_opposition_leader_was_going_to_release_information.html
<p>Thousands of shocked Russians gathered on Saturday to lay flowers and light candles on the bridge where opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/boris_nemtsov_prominent_putin_critic_fatally_shot_in_moscow_days_before.html">shot and killed in Moscow</a> on Friday in what amounted to the country’s highest-profile killing of a political figure in more than a decade. And even though the investigation into the murder is just getting started, several reports claim Nemtsov was preparing to release information about the Kremlin’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.</p>
<p>Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko himself put forward the theory on Saturday. &quot;He said he would reveal persuasive evidence of the involvement of Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Someone was very afraid of this ... They killed him,&quot; Poroshenko said, according to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/28/us-russia-nemtsov-poroshenko-idUSKBN0LW0P920150228">Reuters</a>. He’s not alone. The <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/world/europe/russian-authorities-say-fellow-opposition-members-may-have-killed-boris-nemtsov.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0">New York Times</a> </em>talks to the <em>New Times </em>magazine editor who met with Nemtsov two weeks ago. Nemtsov reportedly told his old friend he wanted to publish a pamphlet titled “Putin and the War” about the country’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict. He knew the risks. “He was afraid of being killed,” the editor, Yevgenia Albats, said. “And he was trying to convince himself, and me, they wouldn’t touch him.”</p>
<p>For its part, Russia’s top investigative body said it is looking at several possible motives for the killing, including “murder as a provocation to destabilize the political situation in the country.” The Investigative Committee said it was analyzing whether he had been killed as a &quot;sacrificial victim for those who do not shun any method for achieving their political goals,&quot; reports the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_OPPOSITION_LEADER_KILLED?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2015-02-28-11-15-57">Associated Press</a>. The thinking is that fellow members of the opposition could have killed Nemtsov in order to create a martyr, an assertion that many immediately dismissed as ridiculous. The Investigative Committee is also examining whether the killing had anything to do with Ukraine, or if there was any connection to Islamic extremism.</p>
<p>World leaders, including President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, condemned the killing and have called for a thorough investigation, notes the <em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/russian-opposition-politician-boris-nemtsov-shot-dead-moscow-reports">Guardian</a></em>. “I am shocked and sickened by the callous murder of Boris Nemtsov as he walked in the heart Moscow last night,” Cameron <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11441729/David-Cameron-says-callous-murder-of-Boris-Nemtsov-must-be-rapidly-investigated.html">said in a statement on Saturday morning</a>. &quot;This despicable act must be fully, rapidly and transparently investigated, and those responsible brought to justice.&quot; Obama also called on “the Russian government to conduct a prompt, impartial, and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his murder and ensure that those responsible for this vicious killing are brought to justice.”</p>Sat, 28 Feb 2015 18:02:31 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/boris_nemtsov_murdered_russian_opposition_leader_was_going_to_release_information.htmlDaniel Politi2015-02-28T18:02:31ZbriefingMurdered Russian Opposition Leader Was Planning to Release Information on Ukraine Conflict227150228003Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/boris_nemtsov_murdered_russian_opposition_leader_was_going_to_release_information.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Dmitry Serebryakov/AFP/Getty ImagesPeople gather on Feb. 28, 2015 at the spot where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot dead, near Saint-Basil's Cathedral, in the center of Moscow. &nbsp;One Billion Young People Risk Hearing Loss Due to Loud Musichttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/who_one_billion_young_people_risk_hearing_loss_due_to_loud_music.html
<p>Turn down the music. That’s the key message from the <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/ear-care/en/">World Health Organization</a> that claims 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss because of the music they listen to through their smartphones or personal audio devices. The WHO claims that its data demonstrates around half of those aged 12-35 in middle- and high-income countries are exposed to unsafe levels of sound through headphones. And around 40 percent are exposed to potentially damaging sound at entertainment venues.</p>
<p>“As they go about their daily lives doing what they enjoy, more and more young people are placing themselves at risk of hearing loss,” says Dr. Etienne Krug, WHO Director for the Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention. “They should be aware that once you lose your hearing, it won’t come back.”</p>
<p>What can people do? The WHO explains:</p>
<blockquote>
Teenagers and young people can better protect their hearing by keeping the volume down on personal audio devices, wearing earplugs when visiting noisy venues, and using carefully fitted, and, if possible, noise-cancelling earphones/headphones. They can also limit the time spent engaged in noisy activities by taking short listening breaks and restricting the daily use of personal audio devices to less than one hour. With the help of smartphone apps, they can monitor safe listening levels. In addition they should heed the warning signs of hearing loss and get regular hearing check-ups.
</blockquote>
<p>The WHO estimates that around 360 million people across the world suffer from “moderate to profound hearing loss due to various causes.”</p>Sat, 28 Feb 2015 17:32:13 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/who_one_billion_young_people_risk_hearing_loss_due_to_loud_music.htmlDaniel Politi2015-02-28T17:32:13ZbriefingOne Billion Young People Risk Hearing Loss Due to Loud Music227150228002Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/who_one_billion_young_people_risk_hearing_loss_due_to_loud_music.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by David Becker/Getty ImagesTurn it down, kid.Autopsy of Teen Killed by Denver Police Appears to Contradict Official Accounthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/jessica_hernandez_autopsy_of_teen_killed_by_police_appears_to_contradict.html
<p>The 17-year-old girl who was fatally shot by Denver police officers on Jan. 26 while driving a stolen car suffered four gunshot wounds, according to the autopsy. Two bullets struck Jessica Hernandez through the left side of her chest, which her family has said directly contradicts the claim by cops who say they opened fire when she tried to run them down, reports <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/28/us-usa-shooting-colorado-idUSKBN0LW04U20150228">Reuters</a>. She also had bullet wounds on her thigh and pelvis. Police insist the cops repeatedly told those in the car to exit the vehicle, but a passenger tells the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLICE_SHOOTING_DENVER?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Associated Press</a> that wasn’t the case.</p>
<p>&nbsp;“The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner has classified the death of Jessica Hernandez as a homicide. The report shows that Jessie was shot from the driver’s side of the car and not from close range. These facts undermine the Denver Police Department’s claim that Jessie was driving at the officers as they shot her,” an attorney representing Hernandez’s family said in a statement. Many have raised questions about Hernandez’s death from the beginning, and thousands signed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Justice to get involved in the investigation, reports Denver’s <a href="http://kdvr.com/2015/02/27/autopsy-police-shot-jessie-hernandez-3-times-teen-had-marijuana-in-her-system/">Fox affiliate</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POLICE_SHOOTING_DENVER?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">AP</a>, however, talks to a retired police chief who cautioned against making definite conclusions from the autopsy report, saying other factors need to be considered. &quot;It's like putting a giant jigsaw puzzle together, and we've got two tiny little pieces right now,&quot; Montgomery said. &quot;More are going to start coming into place.&quot;</p>Sat, 28 Feb 2015 15:38:44 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/jessica_hernandez_autopsy_of_teen_killed_by_police_appears_to_contradict.htmlDaniel Politi2015-02-28T15:38:44ZbriefingAutopsy of Teen Killed by Denver Police Appears to Contradict Official Account227150228001Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/28/jessica_hernandez_autopsy_of_teen_killed_by_police_appears_to_contradict.htmlfalsefalsefalseFacebook / Justice for Jessica HernandezJessica Hernandez.House Approves One Week's Worth of Funding for Department of Homeland Securityhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/house_homeland_security_shutdown_avoided_one_week_extension_approved.html
<p>After <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_shutdown_watch_house_gop_revolts_blocks_john_boehner_s_bid_to_avoid.html">earlier rejecting</a> a bill that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security for three weeks, the House of Representatives late Friday voted 357 to 60 to keep the department operational for a single week as House Republicans continue their campaign to halt President Obama's immigration reforms by using DHS funding as leverage. From the <em>Huffington Post</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
A majority of Democrats joined Republicans to vote for the short-term fix, after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told her colleagues that the passage of the one-week resolution would assure a vote on a full funding bill next week. Democratic leadership aides said they were assured that the House would take up a full-year funding bill next week if they helped pass the one-week continuing resolution on Friday. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel insisted that no such promise had been made.
</blockquote>
<p>The Senate, which has already voted overwhelmingly to fund DHS through September without any immigration-related conditions, also approved the one-week extension.<br /> </p>Sat, 28 Feb 2015 03:59:58 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/house_homeland_security_shutdown_avoided_one_week_extension_approved.htmlBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-28T03:59:58ZbriefingHouse Approves One Week's Worth of Funding for Department of Homeland Security227150227014Ben Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/house_homeland_security_shutdown_avoided_one_week_extension_approved.htmlfalsefalsefalseMark Wilson/GettyHouse speaker John Boehner in a photo taken Friday.Phil Robertson Says Interesting Things at CPAC, Bemoans Non-Christians in White Househttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/phil_robertson_cpac_2015_the_duck_dynasty_star_doesn_t_like_all_the_non.html
<p>This may come as a bit of a surprise to some, but Phil Robertson—the Duck Dynasty reality television star who came under liberal scrutiny and became a <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/12/19/duck_dynasty_bobby_jindal_sarah_palin_see_duck_dynasty_suspension_as_a_first.html">conservative folk hero</a> after being suspended for his, um, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/12/18/duck_dynasty_s_phil_robertson_gets_suspended_for_anti_gay_tirade.html">colorful views on race relations and homosexuality</a>—said some interesting things at CPAC on Friday.</p>
<p>The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual event that brings together conservatism’s most dedicated grassroots activists, influential thought leaders, and some people who do reality TV. Sometimes people give speeches that make history and launch their political careers, and other times they say things that make you scratch your head.</p>
<p>Here are some of the interesting things Phil Robertson said during his address:</p>
<p><strong>On rock and roll music:</strong> “What do you call the hundred and ten million who have sexually transmitted illnesses? It's the revenge of the hippies! Sex, drugs, and rock and roll have come back to haunt us, in a bad way.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>On genital herpes:</strong> “How many seconds does it take to get genital herpes? [The Centers for Disease Control] said 30 seconds. I'm like, whoa, that's pretty quick.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>On Speaker John Boehner’s apparent enforcement of a House dress code and Robertson’s own CPAC fashion choices:</strong>&nbsp;“<a href="http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/fn2/video/0/0/022715_cpac_robertson2_640.jpg">These are my church clothes</a>. I never got around to buying a suit. … You say, ‘Phil, are you going to make it through this thing without of a suit?’ Irregardless of me not being able to go on the floor of the House of Representatives without a suit on, according to ol’ John Boehner—‘Hey John, I have my best clothes on!’</p>
<p>Boehner, here’s a newsflash! Just make sure you pass good bills comin’ out of that House that affects my life and don’t worry about the clothes on their backs, just pass good legislation! I’ll feel better about you!”</p>
<p><strong>On non-religious people in the White House:</strong> Robertson quoted James Madison as saying, “This Constitution was written for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.” Then Robertson said that the problem with America is that there have been <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/414574/phil-robertson-there-are-too-many-non-christians-white-house-brendan-bordelon">too many non-Christian presidents</a>: “You know what’s happened, GOP? We got too many ‘any others’ in the White House! It wasn’t meant for them!”</p>
<p><strong>On similarities between himself and George Washington: </strong>“Your founding fathers were godly. So am I. You say, ‘Phil, you’re like George Washington.’ Yeah! ‘You’re like Thomas Jefferson.’ Yeah! I’m just saying, they were godly.”</p>
<p>He said these interesting things in an acceptance speech for the Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award. If this has whetted your interest in interesting things said by Phil Robertson, Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment, Mediaite has video of the whole interesting speech <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/duck-dynastys-phil-robertson-rails-against-stds-revenge-of-the-hippies-at-cpac-2015/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Jeb Bush spoke shortly after Phil Robertson. He also seems to have found the things Phil Robertson said to be interesting, as he tweeted this:</p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 23:34:10 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/phil_robertson_cpac_2015_the_duck_dynasty_star_doesn_t_like_all_the_non.htmlBetsy Woodruff2015-02-27T23:34:10ZbriefingPhil Robertson Says Interesting Things at CPAC, Bemoans Non-Christians in White House227150227013cpacBetsy WoodruffThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/phil_robertson_cpac_2015_the_duck_dynasty_star_doesn_t_like_all_the_non.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesA wise man once said a bunch of things that are tough to understand.Prominent Putin Critic Fatally Shot in Moscow Days Before Anti-Government Rally&nbsp;http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/boris_nemtsov_prominent_putin_critic_fatally_shot_in_moscow_days_before.html
<p>Multiple outlets are now reporting that the veteran Russian liberal politician Boris Nemtsov was <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31669061">shot dead</a> in Moscow today. According to the Russian newswire TASS, he was <a href="http://tass.ru/proisshestviya/1798055">shot four times</a> near the center of the city.</p>
<p>The exact circumstances aren’t yet clear, but the shooting comes just before Sunday’s <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-26/anti-putin-opposition-looks-to-russian-spring-for-revival">planned “anti-crisis” opposition rally</a> in Moscow, organized by Russia’s beleaguered political opposition, which until today <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/02/02/russian-opposition-to-test-putins-popularity-amid-financial-crisis/">included Nemtsov</a>. Fellow opposition leader Alexey Navalny was <a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/moscow-court-jails-activist-navalny-for-promoting-opposition-rally/516266.html">jailed last week</a>, preventing him from attending the rally, meaning two of the movement’s best known leaders have now been silenced ahead of the highly-anticipated event, which is supposed to call attention to the worsening state of the Russian economy.</p>
<p>Born in Sochi, Nemtsov was considered a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18408303">rising star in Russian politics</a> during the 1990s when served as governor of Nizhny Novgorod and then a deputy prime minister in Boris Yeltsin’s government. A co-founder of the liberal Union of Right Forces party, he became a staunch opponent of Vladimir Putin as well as a strong supporter of Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution and advisor to former Ukrainian President and Putin antagonist Viktor Yuschenko. In 2008, he <a href="http://www.dw.de/kasparov-kremlin-critics-form-solidarity-movement/a-3872735">cofounded the opposition party</a> Solidarity with chess champion Garry Kasparov, and in 2009, <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/Nemtsov_Challenges_Sochi_Mayoral_Election_Results/1731757.html">unsuccessfully ran</a> against a Kremlin-backed candidate for mayor of Sochi. He was a fixture at opposition rallies in Moscow and was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/world/europe/04russia.html">arrested multiple times</a>. Earlier this week, he had been sentenced <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/world/europe/russian-opposition-leaders-get-jail-terms.html">to 10 days in jail</a> for resisting arrest during a 2012 rally. Nemtsov also found other ways to needle Russia’s president, including <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/106651/vladimir-putins-favorite-bling-definitive-list">publishing photos of his (alleged) Black Sea villa.</a></p>
<p>Nemtsov’s excellent English and sarcastic sense of humor made him one of the most quoted Russian opposition figures in the Western media. When I <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/03/01/interview-boris-nemtsov/">interviewed him in 2010</a> about plans to hold the Winter Olympics in his hometown, he was incredulous about the idea of having the games in “one of the only places in Russia where there is no snow in the winter. Comparing to Nikita Krushchev’s desire to grow corn in the Arctic circle, he predicted that the games would be “an economic and ecological catastrophe.”</p>
<p>Nemtsov believed pressure from Putin and cronyism was behind the IOC’s &nbsp;decision to hold the games in Sochi. “Eventually, there will be an international investigation to bring to light why this decision was made,” he predicted, so far, sadly, inaccurately.</p>
<p>In an article on the upcoming rally published yesterday, he <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4ecd1a04-bd1d-11e4-b523-00144feab7de.html#axzz3Sz9XQOm7">told the</a> <em>Financial Times</em> that he believed Putin would serve out the rest of his term, as well as another one beginning in 2018. The goal, he said, was to be ready for 2024 when, according to Russia’s constitution, Putin can no longer run again.</p>
<p>“Three years ago, we were an opposition. Now we are no more than dissidents,” he said. “The task is to organize a real opposition again.”</p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 23:08:20 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/boris_nemtsov_prominent_putin_critic_fatally_shot_in_moscow_days_before.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-27T23:08:20ZbriefingProminent Putin Critic Fatally Shot in Moscow Days Before Anti-Government Rally&nbsp;227150227012Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/boris_nemtsov_prominent_putin_critic_fatally_shot_in_moscow_days_before.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty ImagesNemtsov surrounded by police in riot gear during a 2011 demonstration in Moscow.&nbsp;House Conservatives Revolt, Block GOP Leaders’ Bid to Avoid Partial DHS Shutdownhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_shutdown_watch_house_gop_revolts_blocks_john_boehner_s_bid_to_avoid.html
<p>House Speaker John Boehner began Friday thinking he may have found a way out of the political stalemate that threatened to partially shutdown the Department of Homeland Security at midnight. His proposed solution—a three-week funding bill that would have <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_immigration_fight_republicans_to_pass_three_week_funding_bill_push_current.html">set up a repeat of the same immigration fight next month</a>—ended in an unexpected and embarrassing defeat Friday evening when he couldn’t wrangle enough of his party’s rank-and-file to vote for his stopgap measure.</p>
<p>GOP leaders held the vote open for more than a half hour as they frantically tried to convince enough conservatives to change their minds, but the measure ultimately failed 203-224. It needed 217 votes for passage.</p>
<p>Democrats, at the urging of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, largely voted against the effort. That left conservative lawmakers to either side with GOP leadership or risk a partial shutdown of a federal agency that includes the Secret Service, TSA, FEMA, and Coast Guard. In the end, roughly 50 Republicans opted for the second of those two options.</p>
<p>The lower chamber remains in session, though, so it’s possible that the House could still vote again before midnight. <em><a href="https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/571434762285527040">Politico’</a></em><a href="https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/571434762285527040">s John Bresnahan</a> is reporting that one option on the table would be to bring up an even shorter funding bill. After what just happened on the House floor, however, there's little to suggest the conservatives who have pushed DHS to the brink of a partial shutdown would be willing to budge now.</p>
<p>Earlier in the day, the Senate Republicans passed a standalone bill to fund DHS for the remainder of the fiscal year. That effort was step one of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s two-part plan, which also includes a standalone vote on legislation to block President Obama’s immigration reforms. GOP hardliners in the House have no interest in that plan, however, and appear steadfast in their desire to tie the department’s funding directly to reform-blocking legislation. If the House would have passed its three-week bill this evening, the Senate was ready to sign off on it.</p>
<p>If DHS funding does expire at midnight Friday, the agency will actually shut down largely in name only. A fraction of the department's staff would be furloughed, but by law the department's essential employees would be required to keep working, albeit in many cases without a paycheck. As I <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html">explained earlier this week</a>, though, the irony of the situation is that if DHS funding does expire, it won’t specifically undercut Obama’s immigration reforms (which are&nbsp;<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/11/20/immigration_government_shutdown_republicans_just_found_out_they_can_t_defund.html">self-funded by application fees</a>) but it will harm a handful of programs that have <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html">traditionally been Republican favorites</a>.<br /> </p>
<p>Regardless, the more immediate damage the stalemate and any shutdown would inflict appears likely to be on the working relationship of GOP hardliners and their party's more moderate leadership.<br /> </p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 23:02:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_shutdown_watch_house_gop_revolts_blocks_john_boehner_s_bid_to_avoid.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-27T23:02:00ZbriefingGOP Hardliners Just Embarrassed John Boehner on the House Floor227150227011politicsJosh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_shutdown_watch_house_gop_revolts_blocks_john_boehner_s_bid_to_avoid.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThere's a reason he's not smilingGOP Taps Top George W. Bush Economist to Head Congressional Budget Officehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/keith_hall_new_head_of_congressional_budget_office_is_conservative_economist.html
<p>Keith Hall, the former chief of George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, will <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/27/us-usa-congress-cbo-idUSKBN0LV1O220150227">take over as head of the Congressional Budget Office</a> after being named Friday by Republican leaders to replace Doug Elmendorf, who has held the job since 2009.</p>
<p>Hall’s selection could advance the GOP’s <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/10/paul_ryan_wants_dynamic_scoring_for_tax_policy_republicans_want_to_change.html">plans to secure more favorable CBO reports</a>&nbsp;on conservative tax cut legislation; Republicans <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/228684-house-adopts-dynamic-scoring-rule">recently passed rules</a> to compel the CBO to use “dynamic scoring,” which relies on the assumption that reducing tax rates creates enough increased economic activity to prevent a drop in revenue, in its accounting. The Obama administration and others have been critical of the approach, with the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/01/06/dynamic-scoring-not-answer">warning in January</a> that dynamic scoring could “upend the level playing field that has existed for decades, and could call into question the accuracy, consistency, and fairness” of CBO evaluations.</p>
<p>Hall’s support for dynamic scoring, opposition to minimum-wage increases, and reservations about the Affordable Care Act have earned him&nbsp;<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/02/27/who-is-keith-hall-what-the-new-cbo-director-has-said-about-the-economy/">a reputation as a conservative,</a>&nbsp;but he has not served exclusively in Republican administrations. He led the Bureau of Labor Statistics during President Obama’s first term and he is currently the chief economist for the <a href="http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/about_usitc.htm">International Trade Commission</a>.</p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 22:41:01 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/keith_hall_new_head_of_congressional_budget_office_is_conservative_economist.htmlBeth Ethier2015-02-27T22:41:01ZbriefingGOP Taps Top George W. Bush Economist to Head Congressional Budget Office227150227010budgetrepublicansBeth EthierThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/keith_hall_new_head_of_congressional_budget_office_is_conservative_economist.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesKeith Hall.There’s Got to Be Something More to This Story About a Stolen Picasso Found in the Mailhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/stolen_picasso_recovered_la_coiffeuse_found_in_mail_but_why_d_they_look.html
<p>United States authorities have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/nyregion/stolen-picasso-work-is-seized-in-newark.html?_r=0">recovered a 1911 Picasso painting worth millions</a> that disappeared from Paris in 2001, the Department of Justice says. “La Coiffeuse” was intercepted by customs agents in Newark after it was sent from Belgium in a FedEx package with a declared value of 30 euros, the DOJ announced Thursday in a press release that did not disclose the crucial and likely very interesting detail of why exactly customs agents realized they should be looking in low-value FedEx packages for a painting by one of the greatest artists who ever lived. From the release:</p>
<blockquote>
The shipping label attached to the package containing La Coiffeuse described its contents as “Art Craft / 30 E / Joyeux Noel,” indicating that the package contained a low-value handicraft shipped as a holiday present. The commercial invoice shipped with the painting similarly described the contents as an “Art Craft / Toy” valued at 30 Euros, or approximately $37 U.S. dollars.
</blockquote>
<p>The painting was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/nyregion/stolen-picasso-work-is-seized-in-newark.html?_r=0">last exhibited in Munich in 1998</a>, the <em>New York Times</em> reports, and disappeared from a storage area at the Centre Georges Pompidou in 2001. The United States has filed a civil forfeiture claim that would allow the painting to be returned to France; it’s not clear who sent or intended to receive the smuggled artwork. More to come on this story of international intrigue, hopefully.<br /> </p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 21:36:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/stolen_picasso_recovered_la_coiffeuse_found_in_mail_but_why_d_they_look.htmlBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-27T21:36:00ZbriefingCustoms Agents Find Stolen Picasso in Mail227150227009Ben Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/stolen_picasso_recovered_la_coiffeuse_found_in_mail_but_why_d_they_look.htmlfalsefalsefalseNFL Hires House Majority Whip’s Aide as “Chief Republican Lobbyist”http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/nfl_chief_republican_lobbyist_nicole_gustafson_of_steve_scalise_s_office.html
<p>The NFL has hired a political operative named Nicole Gustafson—an aide to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise who’s also worked for ex-Majority Leader Eric Cantor—as its “<a href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/lobbying-hires/234074-nfl-hires-gop-leadership-aide-as-lobbyist">chief Republican lobbyist</a>,” the<em> Hill</em> reports:</p>
<blockquote>
The league has
<a href="http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/231352-nfl-looks-to-score-republican-lobbyist">long been</a> in the market for a GOP guru to help it navigate public policy matters following November's midterms, which left the party controlling both houses of Congress. ... The NFL has been beefing up its K Street team as it faces tough questions from lawmakers about an array of issues, including head injuries and player safety, the league's tax status, broadcasting rights and the use of performance enhancing drugs.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The NFL has spent about $10.12 million lobbying since 2007, when it began to ramp up its K Street efforts, and shelled out $1.22 million in 2014 alone.
</blockquote>
<p>Gustafson will join a lobbying department run by Cynthia Hogan, a former White House counsel for the Obama administration who also worked with Joe Biden as a staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hogan was <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/nfl-lobbyist-cynthia-hogan-110995.html">hired in September 2014</a> as the NFL was being widely criticized for its handling of former Baltimore running back Ray Rice’s domestic violence case.</p>
<p>Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House oversight committee, said after this year’s Super Bowl that he plans to call NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before Congress to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/02/politics/chaffetz-wants-nfl-gooddell-grilling/">justify the league’s nonprofit status</a>. <em><strong>Slate</strong></em>’s Jordan Weissmann has <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2014/09/the_nfl_should_lose_its_tax_exempt_status_the_league_is_not_a_nonprofit.html">written previously that the NFL should be taxed</a>; Weissmann writes that while declaring the league office a for-profit endeavor would likely raise a negligible amount of revenue, its current status “makes a mockery of the entire concept behind nonprofits.”</p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 20:46:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/nfl_chief_republican_lobbyist_nicole_gustafson_of_steve_scalise_s_office.htmlBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-27T20:46:00ZbriefingNFL Hires House Majority Whip’s Aide as “Chief Republican Lobbyist”227150227008Ben Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/nfl_chief_republican_lobbyist_nicole_gustafson_of_steve_scalise_s_office.htmlfalsefalsefalseAlex Wong/GettySteve Scalise.The Arrested Brooklyn ISIS Guys Were Not a Threat to the U.S.—or Probably to Anyonehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_arrested_brooklyn_isis_guys_were_not_a_threat_to_the_u_s_or_probably.html
<p>The two men arrested in New York this week for attempting to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS might at first seem to be a confirmation of the warnings often voiced by <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/10/graham-islamic-state-will-attack-on-us-soil-obama-must-stop-terror-groups-rise/">politicians</a> and <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-threat-home-fbi-warns-us-military-social/story?id=27270662">law enforcement</a> that the group poses a threat not just in the Middle East but to the U.S. homeland. These were, after all, young men radicalized through the Internet who expressed a desire to either travel to Syria to wage war or carry out attacks at home. But a <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/nyregion/isis-plot-brooklyn-men.html">Times</a></em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/nyregion/isis-plot-brooklyn-men.html"> story this week</a> under the wonderful headline “Eager to Join ISIS, if Only His Mother Would Return His Passport,” is pretty reassuring about the actual level of threat the group poses to the U.S.</p>
<p>The fact that this plot to wage holy war against the infidel depended on 19-year-old Akhror Saidakhmetov being able to sweet-talk his mom into giving him back his passport isn’t the only indication in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/25/nyregion/criminal-complaint-charging-3-in-brooklyn-with-aiding-isis.html">FBI’s case against the men</a>, released just after their arrest, that we aren’t exactly dealing with future Bin Ladens here.</p>
<p>The men first popped onto the FBI’s radar when Abdurasul Juraboev wrote a post on an Uzbek-language website last August saying that he wanted to shoot Barack Obama and asking whether he could swear his loyalty to ISIS in absentia. When the FBI paid a visit to him, he not only acknowledged writing the post and acknowledged a desire to fight for ISIS and kill Obama, he put it in writing and identified Saidakhmetov as someone who shared his ambitions.</p>
<p>According to the FBI report, Juraboev said he “would like to travel to Syria to engage in violence on behalf of ISIS ‘if Allah wills,’ but currently lacked the means to travel there. In addition JURABOEV stated that he would harm President Barack Obama if he had the opportunity to do so, but currently does not have the means or an imminent plan do so.”</p>
<p>At that point, for the FBI, it was just a matter of waiting for them to develop the means and the plans—and helping them along in the process. While they got in touch with an ISIS recruiter who urged them to travel to the Islamic State, the men expressed frustration that since ISIS members “don’t know us, they won’t help us.” Most of the rest of the report concerns their attempts, along with a confidential informant posing as a fellow wannabe jihadist, to convince their families and U.S. authorities that they’re actually traveling to Uzbekistan. (At one point, Saidakhmetov got confused by all the code words and thought they actually <em>were</em> going to Uzbekistan, much to the amusement of his co-conspirators.) All the while, they seem to have been egged on by the informant, who also claimed to be able to forge crucial travel documents for them. &nbsp;</p>
<p>This would appear to be the latest in a <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/10/17/how-many-idiot-jihadis-can-the-fbi-fool/">long line of cases</a> in which not-so-bright guys with dreams of jihad are nudged along (in some cases borderline entrapped) by FBI informants. Other examples have included the guy who attempted to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/nyregion/arrest-in-plot-to-blow-up-federal-reserve-bank.html?_r=0">detonate a dud bomb given</a> to him by the bureau outside the Federal Reserve, the guy who <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/fbi_arrests_man_attempting_to_attack_capitol-212522-1.html?pos=htmbtxt">attempted to detonate a fake suicide vest</a> outside the capital, and the guy who tried to blow up a fake bomb at a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/27/oregon.bomb.plot/index.html?_s=PM:CRIME">Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland</a>. All these men are serving lengthy prison sentences, though it’s not clear they would have gone as far as they had without the involvement of FBI informants posing as co-conspirators.</p>
<p>This case is a bit different. For one thing, the role of the informant in facilitating the plan is <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/did-the-f-b-i-encourage-would-be-isis-recruits-in-brooklyn?mbid=social_facebook">less clear</a>. For another, the plot in question was not an attack on U.S. soil, but an attempt to travel to fight overseas. The suspects discussed a number of possible attacks in the U.S., ranging from bombing Coney Island to joining the U.S. Army in order to shoot soldiers, but never got past the spitballing stage and probably didn’t have the means or knowhow to carry them out. However, assuming they could ever have gotten their act together to leave the country, Saidakhmetov and Juraboev could have posed a security threat—to the people of Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/foreign-fighters-flow-to-syria/2014/10/11/3d2549fa-5195-11e4-8c24-487e92bc997b_graphic.html">steady flow of foreign fighters</a> to ISIS is the group’s main material advantage right now. Some foreign fighters, like Mohammed Emwazi, aka “<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/27/389464622/the-past-of-jihadi-john-early-run-ins-and-radicalization">Jihadi John</a>,” do achieve the global notoriety potential recruits seek. The vast majority are thought to be used <a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-11/foreign-fighters-are-islamic-state-s-cannon-fodder">as front-line cannon fodder</a>. Either way, ISIS couldn’t survive without them.</p>
<p>But despite what <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/08/politics/cnn-poll-isis/">seven out of 10 Americans believe</a>, there’s not much evidence to suggest that ISIS poses a major security threat to the U.S. itself. No ISIS plots against America have become public yet, and the terrorist attacks in other Western countries carried out by ISIS sympathizers—including in Canada, Australia, and France—don’t appear to have been actually directed by the group, which compared with al-Qaida is more interested in expanding its territory than plotting elaborate attacks in the U.S. The Americans killed by ISIS have all been in the countries where it operates.</p>
<p>It’s true that ISIS propaganda calls on its supporters to launch attacks, but it’s hardly the only group that does this. There was a risk of radicalized individuals carrying out terrorist attacks in the U.S. before ISIS emerged, and it will still be there even if the group is defeated. That’s not to say that ISIS—a marauding <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31655433">genocidal</a> army terrifyingly destabilizing an already volatile region—isn’t worth defeating, or that the U.S. shouldn’t be involved in stopping it. ISIS is dangerous for the world, but for now, judging by its latest sorta recruits, it’s not that dangerous to America.&nbsp;</p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 20:26:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_arrested_brooklyn_isis_guys_were_not_a_threat_to_the_u_s_or_probably.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-27T20:26:00ZbriefingThe Arrested Brooklyn ISIS Guys Were Not a Threat to the U.S.—or Probably to Anyone227150227007Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_arrested_brooklyn_isis_guys_were_not_a_threat_to_the_u_s_or_probably.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesNew York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton discusses the arrest of three Brooklyn men who allegedly plotted to travel to Syria to join ISIS, on Feb. 25, 2015, in New York City.&nbsp;Kidnapped-at-Birth South African Reunited With Family After Randomly Meeting Biological Sisterhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/south_african_woman_kidnapped_at_birth_reunited_with_family_after_meeting.html
<p>Wild story out of South Africa: A 17-year-old named Zephany who was kidnapped from a hospital at birth has been reunited with her biological family after reportedly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/27/world/africa/ap-af-south-africa-kidnapped-found.html?_r=0">befriending her own sister at school by accident</a>. From the AP, which cites the <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/stolen-baby-found-17-years-later-1.1824397"><em>Cape Argus</em> newspaper</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
In her final year of high school, friends told her about a new student who had an uncanny resemblance to her, her biological aunt said. The two girls met and bonded instantly, despite the four-year age difference.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The younger daughter told her parents about her new friend who looked just like her. Still hopeful, the family invited the girl to their home for coffee, the Cape Argus reported. After seeing her, the father immediately contacted the police who revived their investigation into the kidnapping, the newspaper reported.
</blockquote>
<p>Zephany’s identity was confirmed by DNA testing, and the 50-year-woman who was posing as her mother has been charged with her kidnapping.</p>
<p>Her biological parents, Celeste and Morn&eacute; Nurse, say they held a party in absentia for Zepahny every year on her birthday. Zephany has three siblings.<br /> </p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 18:29:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/south_african_woman_kidnapped_at_birth_reunited_with_family_after_meeting.htmlBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-27T18:29:00ZbriefingKidnapped-at-Birth South African Reunited With Family After Randomly Meeting Biological Sister227150227006Ben Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/south_african_woman_kidnapped_at_birth_reunited_with_family_after_meeting.htmlfalsefalsefalsemichaeljung/ShutterstockCape Town.The Light Is Tearing Us Aparthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_color_of_the_light_is_making_us_see_different_colors_of_the_dress.html
<p>Let me come out and express my biases out front: I always believed the dress was blue and black—or blue and brown. My co-workers can attest to that. But after talking to a couple of people who understand the way we—and the way cameras—see light, I understand why some people saw it as white and gold. It comes down to the color of the light source in the photo. What color is that light, and how is it affecting the color of the dress?</p>
<p>My fianc&eacute;e is <a href="http://www.chainoflakesproductions.com/">a video producer</a> who works with different-colored lights on a regular basis; I have seen her set up lights on many video shoots that turn into crystal clear images. Like <a href="https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/571168149871177730">Kanye and Kim</a>, we started arguing about the color of the dress Thursday night. She told me that this debate is mainly a problem of the lighting in the photo. <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>’s photo editor <a href="http://www.slate.com/authors.lisa_larsonwalker.html">Lisa Larson-Walker</a> agrees, as does <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> producer <a href="http://www.slate.com/authors.anne_marie_lindemann.html">Anne Marie Lindemann</a>:</p>
<p>When we look at the photo, we know instantly that it looks different from the way the dress would look in real life. The background is very bright, and as a result, we have few hints about what the photo’s light looks like in real life. The light could be orange like a living room or a streetlight, or it could be blue like sunlight or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042UN1U0/?tag=slatmaga-20">a daylight bulb</a>. Some of us subconsciously decided the light was orange; others decided the light was blue. Which color we chose affected our perception of the color of the dress, on which that light was shining. That subconscious choice nearly tore us all apart Thursday night—it might have broken up Kimye.</p>
<p>Our brains make these unconscious choices all the time. Think of a white piece of paper under a streetlight; it might look orange. But in this case, we know the paper is white to begin with, and that it’s being lit by orange light. We know a lot more in that situation than we did with the picture of the dress. That is, if we know the paper is white to begin with, we know the light is orange to begin with, and we’re not confused if the paper looks a little orange. Unfortunately, cameras aren’t always as good at compensating for different-colored light as we are. In the picture of the dress, the background is blurry, and the color of the light in the picture of the dress is ambiguous.</p>
<p>Our eyes don’t like ambiguity; they need to make a conclusion about what they see. Some people might be subconsciously deciding the light is blue. To these people, they see blue light shining on<em> </em>a white dress, attributing that blue—that others saw in the dress—to the blue of the light. Similarly, these people saw the black parts of the dress as blue light shining on gold—a color similar to orange. Other people like me saw the light as orange. So we attributed the blue in the dress to the dress—not the light. And I attributed the orangey black of the dress to orange light shining on black.</p>
<p>Thursday night, the fact that the dress was blue and some people saw the light as blue <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/the_great_blue_and_black_versus_white_and_gold_dress_debate.html">drove everyone mad</a>. If the dress had been any other color that was not similar to the color of the light (to some)—or more importantly, if it had any more distinguishing colors in it other than black—the color of the dress would not have been so ambiguous. If the black parts of the dress were red or green, our brains might have been able to correctly—and uniformly—attribute the color of the light source right away.</p>
<p>But that’s not what happened. There was no color to help us distinguish the light from the dress. That drove us mad. It nearly tore us asunder. Thankfully, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/02/27/the_dress_was_the_perfect_meme_how_the_question_of_blue_and_black_or_white.html">we all made it through</a>. My relationship is intact. Kimye endures.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.slate.com/topics/t/the_dress.html"><strong><em>Read more of Slate’s very comprehensive coverage of The Dress.</em></strong></a></p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 17:55:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_color_of_the_light_is_making_us_see_different_colors_of_the_dress.htmlSeth Maxon2015-02-27T17:55:00ZbriefingForget the Dress—What Color Is the Light?!227150227005the dressSeth MaxonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_color_of_the_light_is_making_us_see_different_colors_of_the_dress.htmlfalsefalsefalse1519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40841362230011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40841362230011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40841362230011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40841362230011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40841362230011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO40841362230011519028538001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_1U0LqDiRqg6y9siD7-Z_bO4084136223001Tumblr<em>You’re tearing me apart!</em>Secular Bangladeshi-American Blogger Murdered in Bangladesh Street Attackhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/avijit_roy_murdered_bangladeshi_born_u_s_citizen_and_secular_blogger_killed.html
<p>A Bangladeshi-born United States citizen and secular blogger named Avijit Roy was <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/27/asia/bangladeshi-american-blogger-dead/index.html">murdered in a street attack</a> after a speaking engagement in the Bangladeshi city of Dhaka, reports say. From CNN:</p>
<blockquote>
Based out of the Atlanta area, Roy was a &quot;prominent defender of the free thought movement (and) advocate of atheism, science and metaphysical naturalism,&quot;
<a href="http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?author=8">according to his website</a>. He authored seven books and his writings were also featured in numerous magazines and journals.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Roy's outspokenness, especially on matters of religion, made him a target in Bangladesh, where nearly 90% of people are Muslim and 10% are Hindu,
<a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html">according to the U.S. government</a>.
</blockquote>
<p>“Police say they are investigating a local Islamist group that praised the killing,” <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31656222">the BBC reports</a>. Roy and his wife were attacked together; his wife has survived but suffered injuries including a severed finger. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/27/american-atheist-blogger-hacked-to-death-in-bangladesh">Per the AFP</a>, Roy is the second blogger to have been killed in Bangladesh in two years and the fourth writer to be attacked in just over a decade.<br /> </p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 17:29:20 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/avijit_roy_murdered_bangladeshi_born_u_s_citizen_and_secular_blogger_killed.htmlBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-27T17:29:20ZbriefingSecular Bangladeshi-American Blogger Murdered in Bangladesh Street Attack227150227004Ben Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/avijit_roy_murdered_bangladeshi_born_u_s_citizen_and_secular_blogger_killed.htmlfalsefalsefalseMunir Uz Zaman/AFP/GettyPolice at the crime scene in Dhaka.At Least Seven Reportedly Killed in Four Locations by Single Shooter in Missourihttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/missouri_shootings_single_killer_reportedly_takes_seven_lives_plus_own_in.html
<p>A 36-year-old man apparently <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/27/us/missouri-deaths/index.html">killed at least seven people</a> in four southern Missouri homes before shooting himself, authorities say. From CNN:</p>
<blockquote>
A girl who fled one of the homes in the small community of Tyrone alerted police Thursday night, calling them from a neighbor's house to say she'd heard gunshots, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Kinder told reporters. After police found two bodies in the first residence, investigators found five more bodies and an injured person in three other Tyrone homes, he said.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
A suspect -- a 36-year-old man -- was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot in a vehicle in an adjacent county, police said.
</blockquote>
<p>The body of an elderly woman who apparently died of natural causes was also found in another home that’s been connected to the crime; the <em>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</em> reports that the elderly woman <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/suspect-may-have-gone-on-missouri-killing-spree-after-finding/article_ce9f62ae-77fb-5bc8-8acf-7528549a174b.html">was the mother of the suspect</a>.</p>
<p>Here’s where Tyrone is:</p>
<p>The victims’ connection to the shooter, if any, is as of yet unknown.<br /> </p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 16:46:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/missouri_shootings_single_killer_reportedly_takes_seven_lives_plus_own_in.htmlBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-27T16:46:00ZbriefingAt Least Seven Reportedly Killed in Four Locations in Missouri227150227003Ben Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/missouri_shootings_single_killer_reportedly_takes_seven_lives_plus_own_in.htmlfalsefalsefalseScreen shot/NBCA Missouri highway patrol officer discusses the killings.The GOP Solution to DHS Stalemate Is to Have the Same Fight Next Monthhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_immigration_fight_republicans_to_pass_three_week_funding_bill_push_current.html
<p>Good news: Congressional Republicans have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/us/house-and-senate-near-differing-plans-to-avoid-homeland-security-shutdown.html">stumbled onto a plan</a> that appears likely to prevent the Department of Homeland Security’s funding from expiring at midnight. Hooray! Bad news: That plan all but guarantees Congress will find itself right back in the middle of this same stalemate next month. Oh.<br /> </p>
<p>Friday could still prove to be an unpredictable one on Capitol Hill, but the most likely scenario, according to the <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/us/house-and-senate-near-differing-plans-to-avoid-homeland-security-shutdown.html">New York Times</a></em> and the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/congress-prepares-to-vote-on-temporary-homeland-security-funding-1425050347">other Beltway watchers</a>, is that a day of vote wrangling in both chambers will end with Congress signing off on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/us/house-and-senate-near-differing-plans-to-avoid-homeland-security-shutdown.html">a short-term funding bill</a> that does not include language that would block the high-profile immigration reforms President Obama unveiled last fall. That bill, however, would keep DHS funded only through March 19, meaning it’s merely a can-kicking measure and not a solution to the stalemate that has slowly evolved from a <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/immigration_dhs_funding_senate_house_republicans_at_odds_over_how_to_fund.html">run-of-the-mill partisan fight into an intraparty squabble</a> that has put House Republicans at odds with their Senate colleagues.</p>
<p>Senate Republicans are pressing forward with <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html">their original plan B</a>, which involves standalone votes on one bill that would fund DHS through the end of the fiscal year and on a second that would block Obama’s immigration reforms. House Republicans have no interest in that plan, however, and appear steadfast in their desire to tie the department’s long-term funding directly to reform-blocking legislation. As a result, the Senate’s no-strings funding bill is believed to be DOA in the lower chamber.</p>
<p>Instead, House Republicans are pressing forward on their three-week funding bill, which would spare them the political damage of cutting funding for a federal agency that includes the Secret Service, TSA, FEMA, and Coast Guard, while still allowing them to fight another day. There was some concern that House Speaker John Boehner would have trouble finding enough conservative votes to pass that bill, but any remaining drama largely <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONGRESS_HOMELAND?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">ended Friday morning when the proposal cleared an early test vote</a>, 240–183.</p>
<p>Senate Republicans would prefer to fund the agency for the full fiscal year, but without any alternative they are expected to ultimately take what they can get and call it a week. Regardless, the intraparty fight over how to proceed is further exposing the ideological and tactical gaps between the conservative hardliners that make up the House GOP’s rank-and-file and the more moderate members at the heart of the Senate’s Republican majority. That rift will likely only grow over the next three weeks.<br /> </p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 16:32:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_immigration_fight_republicans_to_pass_three_week_funding_bill_push_current.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-27T16:32:00ZbriefingThe GOP Solution to DHS Stalemate Is to Have the Same Fight Again Next Month227150227002politicsJosh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/dhs_immigration_fight_republicans_to_pass_three_week_funding_bill_push_current.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesSpeaker John Boehner is having trouble finding middle ground between rank-and-file House Republicans and the more moderate Senate.The U.S. Says Kurdish and Iraqi Forces Can Take Down ISIS Soon. The Kurds Aren’t So Sure.http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_u_s_says_kurdish_and_iraqi_forces_can_take_down_isis_soon_the_kurds.html
<p>The plan announced by the Pentagon last week for the retaking of Mosul from ISIS relies on both Kurdish and Iraqi military forces working together with the help of U.S. airstrikes. But in a meeting with reporters in Washington on Thursday, the Kurdish Regional Government’s new representative in Washington, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, said she was both skeptical that the Iraqis would be ready to do their part and confused about the timetable announced by the U.S.</p>
<p>“I and my colleagues were surprised by the comments by the U.S. that there might be a spring offensive on Mosul,” Abdul Rahman said. “We don’t see that the Iraqi forces are ready. Maybe the Americans have intelligence that we don’t have, but we’re very surprised by that.”</p>
<p>Hanging over the efforts to mount an effective Iraqi counterattack against ISIS has been the issue of Kurdish independence. Iraqi Kurdistan has had substantial autonomy since the U.S. and its allies imposed a no-fly zone over the region in 1991, but has stopped short of formally declaring independence. Early in the crisis, it <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/06/13/kurdish_forces_capture_kirkuk_could_iraq_s_chaos_lead_to_an_independent.html">appeared likely</a> that ISIS’s rise in Iraq would bolster Kurdistan’s case. After all, Baghdad’s governance had collapsed and Kurdish forces had proved to be the most effective at fighting ISIS. But momentum has slowed lately. In July, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28103124">called for</a> preparations to begin for an independence referendum—which would almost certainly pass overwhelmingly—but those plans were <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/09/05/kurds_agree_to_postpone_independence_referendum.html">indefinitely shelved</a> in September. This was likely due in large <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/05/238793/kurds-say-theyll-give-a-unified.html">part to U.S. pressure</a>: The U.S. remains committed to a unified Iraqi state in general and particularly now as it looks to tamp down infighting among the anti-ISIS coalition partners.</p>
<p>Abdul Rahman says the U.S. emphasis on promoting Iraqi unity is actually hampering the war effort, noting that supplies of new American weapons for Kurdish forces have to pass through Baghdad for inspection before being sent on to the Kurdish capital, Erbil. She likened this to “all flights having to land in Washington before they can go to L.A. or New York or Houston.”</p>
<p>“The United States and the U.K. are married to the idea of ‘one Iraq,’ ” she said. “Fine, we’re part of Iraq. But we’re the ones fighting ISIS. Where is the Iraqi army? What happened to the Iraqi army?”</p>
<p>I asked Abdul Rahman if she had any sense of when the Kurdish government might again take up the issue of formally splitting from Baghdad. “The question of independence always hangs over us. It will never go away until we achieve independence,” she said. “But there is no timeframe. It could be in two years, or in 20.&quot;</p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 15:35:50 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_u_s_says_kurdish_and_iraqi_forces_can_take_down_isis_soon_the_kurds.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-27T15:35:50ZbriefingThe U.S. Says Kurdish and Iraqi Forces Can Take Down ISIS Soon. The Kurds Aren’t So Sure.227150227001Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/27/the_u_s_says_kurdish_and_iraqi_forces_can_take_down_isis_soon_the_kurds.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty ImagesPeshmerga fighters hold a position at a post in the strategic Jalawla area, in Diyala province, which is a gateway to Baghdad, as battles with ISIS jihadists continue on Sept. 27, 2014.The Official Live Blog: Is This Dress Blue and Black or White and Gold?http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/the_great_blue_and_black_versus_white_and_gold_dress_debate.html
<p><a href="http://www.slate.com/topics/t/the_dress.html">Read more of <em><strong>Slate</strong></em>’s very comprehensive coverage of The Dress.</a></p>
<p>In the beginning there was a dress. This dress was photographed and put on the Internet, like many dresses before it. That’s where things got messy. This particular dress was particularly confusing because to some it appears blue and black, while to others, it is clearly white and gold. What began was a debate for the ages. It implicated God and man and the cosmos.</p>
<p>Here's one of the Tumblr posts that really got the argument going.<br /> </p>
<p>For the record, the dress appears to be, in reality, a black and blue item from a shop called Roman.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/the-dress-is-blue-and-black-says-the-girl-who-saw-it-in-pers?utm_term=.isVlDbakG#.idKqgP3G2">BuzzFeed’s </a></em><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/the-dress-is-blue-and-black-says-the-girl-who-saw-it-in-pers?utm_term=.isVlDbakG#.idKqgP3G2">Claudia Koerner</a>, meanwhile, unearthed the origin of the picture—in Scotland. A “bride and groom couldn’t decide if the dress was blue and black or white and gold… So they posted the photo on Facebook,” according to <em>BuzzFeed</em>, where you can <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/the-dress-is-blue-and-black-says-the-girl-who-saw-it-in-pers?utm_term=.isVlDbakG#.idKqgP3G2">check out the full yarn</a>.</p>
<p>Why do some people see the dress as white and gold while others see it as blue and black? (Some people even see it both ways, seemingly at random.) The informed consensus seems to be that it has to do with psychology/vision issues related to the brain's natural process for adjusting to varying lighting conditions; <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/"><em>Wired</em></a> posted one of the earliest clear explanations of that theory, and <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/02/what_color_is_this_dress_a_scientist_explains_visual_ambiguity_and_color.html">Pascal Wallisch wrote about it for<em><strong> Slate</strong></em></a>. (Though it should be noted that what was most amazing and engaging about the Great Dress Debate was just how long it went on without any explanation at all surfacing. For hours, it just seemed like strange magic, or a prank that everyone else in the world was surreally in on except you.) From <em>Wired</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
Without you having to worry about it, your brain figures out what color light is bouncing off the thing your eyes are looking at, and essentially subtracts that color from the “real” color of the object … Usually that system works just fine. This image, though, hits some kind of perceptual boundary.
</blockquote>
<p>It's worth noting that this emergent theory still doen't really explain are so many differences between specific individuals' perception. Why<strong> </strong>does this one image confound and divide people who see other colors the same way, who live in the same location under the same sunlight conditions, who are looking at the same screen from the same angle? The story of the dress is still developing. <strong><br /> </strong></p>
<p><strong><em>Update, Feb. 27, 2015:</em></strong><em> This post has been revised for clarity.</em></p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 05:04:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/the_great_blue_and_black_versus_white_and_gold_dress_debate.htmlElliot HannonBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-27T05:04:00ZbriefingThe Official Live Blog: Is This Dress Blue and Black or White and Gold?227150226014the dressElliot HannonBen Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/the_great_blue_and_black_versus_white_and_gold_dress_debate.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto illustration by Slate.This illustration shows, generally, what both sides of the great debate are seeing.Missouri Candidate for Governor Dead From Gunshot Wound in Apparent Suicidehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/missouri_governor_candidate_schweich_dies_in_apparent_suicide.html
<p>Missouri gubernatorial candidate Tom Schweich <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/26/politics/missouri-politician-suicide/">died on Thursday</a> from a single, <a href="http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/missouri/2015/02/26/missouri-auditor-schweich-hospitalized-for-medical-problem/24062583/">self-inflicted</a> gunshot wound in an apparent suicide. The 54-year-old Republican, in his second term as the state auditor, was considered a <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missouri-auditor-and-governor-candidate-tom-schweich-has-died/article_879ddcd7-c997-5df3-bc61-39282c4f7434.html">leading candidate</a> in next year’s governor’s race.</p>
<p>Here’s more on the scene from <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/missouri-auditor-and-governor-candidate-tom-schweich-has-died/article_879ddcd7-c997-5df3-bc61-39282c4f7434.html">the <em>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
Earlier in the day, a police source told the Post-Dispatch that Schweich's wife was in another room of their house when she heard her husband making phone calls, followed by a gunshot. Schweich had been shot in the head, the source said. A 911 call was made from Schweich's home at 9:48 a.m., seven minutes after Schweich had left a voicemail requesting an interview with a Post-Dispatch reporter. The interview, which was also to include an Associated Press reporter, was set at his Clayton home for later in the day. The subject of the interview, according to Schweich's comments to the Post-Dispatch's editorial page editor, was Schweich's belief that a top state GOP official had spread false information about him.
</blockquote>
<p>“Before entering politics, Schweich worked as a private-sector attorney and for the federal government,” <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/tom-schweich-dead-dies_n_6762996.html">according to the Associated Press</a>. “He also served as chief of staff to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and later worked in the State Department, where he was assigned to coordinate an anti-drug initiative in Afghanistan.”</p>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 00:39:34 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/missouri_governor_candidate_schweich_dies_in_apparent_suicide.htmlElliot Hannon2015-02-27T00:39:34ZbriefingMissouri Candidate for Governor Dead From Gunshot Wound in Apparent Suicide227150226013politicsElliot HannonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/missouri_governor_candidate_schweich_dies_in_apparent_suicide.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Bronwen Roberts/AFP/Getty ImagesTom Schweich at a press conference at the US Embassy in Kabul in 2006. &nbsp;Obama and Biden Skipping AIPAC Ahead of Netanyahu Speechhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/aipac_obama_and_biden_will_not_attend_gathering_of_israel_supporters_ahead.html
<p>President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will not attend <a href="http://www.policyconference.org/">this year's policy conference</a>&nbsp;of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which begins on Sunday. <a href="http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_289563/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=BrwiIkmC">The Associated Press reports</a> that the Obama administration will instead send&nbsp;National Security Adviser Susan Rice and United Nations Representative Samantha Power.</p>
<p>The decision comes in advance of Tuesday's speech to a joint session of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The AP reports that dispatching Rice and Power to AIPAC could be seen as a muted response from a White House irked by Netanyahu's appearance; officials had previously floated the idea of sending only sub-cabinet representatives to address the gathering of Israel supporters.</p>
<p>Rice told Charlie Rose this week that Netanyahu's appearance, during which he is expected to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/31626875">continue recent criticism</a> of Obama's efforts to negotiate an agreement on Iran's nuclear program, could harm &quot;the fabric of the relationship&quot; between the nations &nbsp;by &quot;inject[ing] a degree of partisanship.&quot; Netanyahu, who is speaking at the invitation of Republican House Speaker John Boehner, turned down <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-netanyahu-declines-us-democrats-invitation-for-meeting-during-visit-2015-2">a request to meet with Democratic senators</a> during his visit.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 23:22:18 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/aipac_obama_and_biden_will_not_attend_gathering_of_israel_supporters_ahead.htmlBeth Ethier2015-02-26T23:22:18ZbriefingObama and Biden Skipping AIPAC, Sending Power and Rice Instead227150226012Beth EthierThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/aipac_obama_and_biden_will_not_attend_gathering_of_israel_supporters_ahead.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Joshua Roberts/Getty ImagesNot this year.Judge Overturns&nbsp;Adrian Peterson’s Suspensionhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/adrian_peterson_suspension_overturned_by_federal_judge.html
<p>U.S. District Judge David S. Doty&nbsp;vacated the NFL's suspension of Adrian Peterson on Thursday, probably ensuring that the Minnesota Vikings player will soon return to the field. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had suspended Peterson in November after a grand jury indicted him for injuring his child. A police report <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/09/12/minnesota_vikings_running_back_adrian_peterson_reportedly_indicted_for_child.html">provides</a> the details:</p>
<blockquote>
Peterson’s son had shoved another of his children off a motorbike video game. In response, Peterson snatched a tree branch, picked off the leaves, and whipped his son on the legs, ankles, back, buttocks, and scrotum.&nbsp;
<a href="http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/09/12/exclusive-details-on-adrian-peterson-indictment-charges/">According to the son</a>, Peterson shoved leaves in his mouth during the whipping; Peterson’s son also said this kind of beating had occurred before.
</blockquote>
<p>Peterson ultimately pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two years of community supervision—a predictably lenient punishment, given the fact that Peterson's conduct was <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/09/adrian_peterson_and_corporal_punishment_in_america_it_s_largely_legal.html">arguably legal</a> under Texas law. Still,&nbsp;Goodell decided to suspend Peterson until at least April 15, 2015, a decision an arbitrator quickly upheld. Goodell's authority to suspend Peterson, however, derived from new rules that were applied retroactively to Peterson's conduct, rendering the punishment &quot;fundamentally unfair&quot; and thus invalid,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/2/26/7189311/adrian-peterson-suspension-appeal-result-roger-goodell-vikings">according to Doty</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The NFL is expected to appeal Doty's ruling and can seek an injunction to keep Peterson off the field while it contemplates its next move. Given how profoundly the NFL botched this entire undertaking, however, it seems unlikely that Peterson's suspension will be reinstated on appeal.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 22:36:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/adrian_peterson_suspension_overturned_by_federal_judge.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-26T22:36:00ZbriefingJudge Overturns&nbsp;Adrian Peterson’s Suspension227150226011Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/adrian_peterson_suspension_overturned_by_federal_judge.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Scott Halleran/Getty ImagesAdrian Peterson, once and (probably) future NFL player.Did This Russian Oligarch Come Up With Putin’s Ukraine Strategy?http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/did_this_russian_oligarch_come_up_with_putin_s_ukraine_strategy.html
<p>On Wednesday the independent Russian newspaper <em>Novaya Gazeta </em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/world/europe/russia-ukraine-crimea-annexation.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=0">published a memo</a> reportedly sent to the Kremlin in early February 2014, shortly before the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, advising a strategy for taking advantage of the resulting chaos for Russia’s benefit. The steps outlined in the memo, reportedly sent from the offices of the politically influential Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, are strikingly similar to the strategy Russia has, in fact, pursued.</p>
<p>Written at a time when the Russian government was still supporting Yanukovych, <a href="http://www.novayagazeta.ru/politics/67389.html">the memo</a> predicts the downfall of the leader it describes as having “low moral qualities.” It advises the Russian government to take advantage of the “centrifugal forces” tearing Ukraine apart to eventually facilitate the eventual annexation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine into Russia. It suggests Russia support a “federal” structure for Ukraine, be “pro-Russian drift,” and mount a PR campaign to build enthusiasm in the Russian public for absorbing the regions.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Novaya Gazeta</em> is well-known for its critical investigations of Russian politics. (Anna Politkovskaya, the muckraking reporter whose 2006 murder caused international outrage, worked for the paper.) The paper’s editor <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/25/russia-s-great-ukraine-conspiracy-revealed.html">tells Anna Nemtsova of the <em>Daily Beast</em></a><em> </em>that it received the memo from a trusted Kremlin insider who has a “strong sense” that President Vladimir Putin reviewed the document in February 2014. Spokespeople for Malofeev, whom I <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/10/konstantin_malofeev_one_of_vladimir_putin_s_favorite_businessmen_wants_to.single.html">interviewed in Moscow</a> in October, deny that the memo came from his office, but the report is going to add to the intrigue and mystery surrounding the ultrareligious investor and philanthropist.</p>
<p>Malofeev, who made his money in private equity and is a leading funder of Orthodox Christian and social conservative causes in Russia, is thought to be close to Putin’s inner circle. He’s currently under EU sanctions for supporting providing military support to the armed separatists, and some of the senior rebel leaders are his <a href="http://www.jamestown.org/programs/hotissues/single-hot-issues/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=42725&amp;tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=61&amp;cHash=dd6259a44e21cd67f48b73e0eb1577e2">former employees</a>. When I spoke with him, he denied the charges, saying that his foundation was providing&nbsp;“only food, medicine, and other things that could be used only for humanitarian purposes.”</p>
<p>In January 2014, before the memo was allegedly sent, Malofeev paid a <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/84481538-1103-11e4-94f3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3SnATsBtK">highly publicized visit</a> to Crimea while on tour with a collection of Orthodox icons. He says the trip wasn’t planned and his plane was diverted by weather. He also told me it was a mistake to read political motivations into his visit: “We are all Orthodox. There is nothing political about that.” Of course, for someone with Malofeev’s politics, the line between church and state is pretty thin.</p>
<p>Since the annexation of Crimea, he has also announced plans to partner with a French developer to <a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20140816-french-businessman-villiers-theme-park-crimea-sanctions/">build a “Tsargrad” theme park</a> in Crimea presenting a family-friendly vision of Russian history. (Malofeev supports the eventual restoration of the Russian monarchy.)</p>
<p>Still, even assuming it’s genuine, I think it would be a mistake to read too much significance into the memo. Crimea’s status had been a sore spot in Russian politics for years, and I doubt Putin needed Malofeev to tell him that Ukraine’s linguistic and political divisions could be exploited. And <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/12/16/ruble_crash_we_overestimated_putin_before_let_s_not_underestimate_him_now.html">I still think it’s a mistake</a> to assume that Putin had his entire Ukraine strategy planned out in advance. Many of Malofeev’s domestic priorities—fierce opposition to gay rights, an emphasis on raising Russia’s birthrate, promoting religion and nationalism through the media—align pretty closely with Putin’s. It wouldn’t be a shock to learn they had similar thoughts about how to react to the chaos next door.&nbsp;</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 22:06:54 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/did_this_russian_oligarch_come_up_with_putin_s_ukraine_strategy.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-26T22:06:54ZbriefingDid This Russian Oligarch Come Up With Putin’s Ukraine Strategy?227150226010Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/did_this_russian_oligarch_come_up_with_putin_s_ukraine_strategy.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto courtesy Tahdrummond/Wikimedia CommonsKonstantin MalofeevBen Carson Features Fake Alexis de Tocqueville Quote in CPAC Leaflethttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/ben_carson_cpac_leaflet_quotes_alexis_de_tocqueville_except_de_tocqueville.html
<p>Ben Carson’s supporters are distributing a leaflet on him at CPAC that includes a quote falsely attributed to the French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville.</p>
<p>The booklet, called “Ben Carson On the Issues in His Own Words,” was printed by the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee. It includes excerpts from Carson’s columns and books that detail his stances on different issues, including abortion (against), political correctness (against), and traditional moral values (for). Under the heading “American exceptionalism,” the booklet has an excerpt from <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/15/carson-recovering-americas-exceptionalism/?page=all">an April 2014 <em>Washington Times</em> column</a> by Carson. In the column, Carson writes that Tocqueville “was impressed by the fiery sermons that emphasized the word of God and not the social mores of the day.”</p>
<p>“He concluded his American analysis by saying, ‘America is great, because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great,’” Carson wrote.</p>
<p>Too bad Tocqueville never said that. In <a href="http://www.tocqueville.c-span.nsatc.net/pitney.htm">a 1995 piece for the <em>Weekly Standard</em></a>, John Pitney Jr. detailed the origins of the fake quote, which first showed up in a 1941 book without any documentation of its origin. At least Carson’s error is Reaganesque; the former president used it multiple times, falsely attributing it to the Frenchman. Pitney notes that Bill Clinton also trotted out the fake quote in 1994.</p>
<p>“We could make a nasty crack about politicians who cannot tell Alexis de Tocqueville from Maurice Chevalier, but that would be irrelevant since they seldom write their own material anyway,” Pitney wrote.</p>
<p>Other media outlets seem to have noticed Carson’s flub. His column is syndicated, and <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/375862/recovering-americas-exceptionalism-ben-carson"><em>National Review</em> republished it as saying</a>, “He is often said to have observed” rather than “he concluded his American analysis by saying.”</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 21:42:42 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/ben_carson_cpac_leaflet_quotes_alexis_de_tocqueville_except_de_tocqueville.htmlBetsy Woodruff2015-02-26T21:42:42ZbriefingBen Carson Supporters Passing Out a Fake Alexis de Tocqueville Quote at CPAC227150226009Betsy WoodruffThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/ben_carson_cpac_leaflet_quotes_alexis_de_tocqueville_except_de_tocqueville.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Richard Ellis/Getty ImagesDr. Ben Carson &nbsp;Internet, Divided Over Net Neutrality, Unites Over Llamashttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/llammas_chase_video_watch_arizona_police_chase_two_escaped_llamas_outside.html
<p><strong><em>Update, 5:05 p.m.: Slate </em></strong>producer Anne Marie Llindemann brings us this essentiall musicall highllight reell of the llamas' wholle ordeall. Watch above.&nbsp;<br /> </p>
<p><strong>Original post: </strong>Two llamas—let's call them Thellma and Llouise—spent Thursday afternoon frustrating Arizona pollice and dellighting the Internet by going on an impromptu run that was (thankfulllly) captured on video by llocal TV reporters. (See bellow!) The two woolllly creatures were on the llam for roughlly an hour before pollice were ablle to eventualllly corrall them.</p>
<p>The chase reportedlly began in Sun City and eventualllly crossed into neighboring Sun City West, both of which are retirement communities outside of Phoenix. Here's the <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/surprise/2015/02/26/sun-city-llamas-on-the-loose-abrk/24068713/"><em>Arizona Republic</em> with the pllay-by-pllay</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
The white llama, often running ahead of its smaller dark companion, sprinted into oncoming traffic as a posse member approached with his arms outstretched. Vehicles attempted to block the animals, but were unable to trap the couple. The llamas would often stop in shade to take rests as their chasers tried to track them down. But, those relaxed moments didn't last long after they were separated, desperate to reunite.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
When the two inexplicably found each other again, the black llama was lassoed in by the posse, leaving the white llama to roam the streets alone. Minutes after its companion was apprehended, a posse member in the bed of a pickup truck reigned in the white llama with a lasso near Grand and 99th avenues.
</blockquote>
<p>Exactlly where the llamas escaped from is currentlly a mystery.&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/thecultureofme/status/571046522613313536">|\,,,,/|<br /> ξ･ｪ･ξ<br /> ξ￣ ξ<br /> ξ &nbsp; ξ<br /> ξ “~～~～.,&deg;<br /> ξ &nbsp;&nbsp; ξ<br /> &quot;ξξ&nbsp; ξ~～~ξξ&nbsp; ξ<br /> ξξ ξ ξξ_ξ</a></p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 21:05:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/llammas_chase_video_watch_arizona_police_chase_two_escaped_llamas_outside.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-26T21:05:00ZbriefingInternet, Divided Over Net Neutrality, Unites Over Llamas227150226008Josh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/llammas_chase_video_watch_arizona_police_chase_two_escaped_llamas_outside.htmlfalsefalsefalse1519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408272971400135467766820011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408272971400135467766820011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408272971400135467766820011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408272971400135467766820011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408272971400135467766820011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408272971400135467766820011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408272971400135467766820011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408254975900140826956370011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408254975900140826956370011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408254975900140826956370011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408254975900140826956370011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408254975900140826956370011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t408254975900140826956370011519028539001AQ~~,AAAAAASoY90~,_gW1ZHvKG_2pKN0AJTySft1Irx-gT62t40825497590014082695637001Argentine Judge Rules That Criminal Investigation Into the President Is Unwarrantedhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/argentine_judge_rules_that_criminal_investigation_into_the_president_is.html
<p>Judge&nbsp;Daniel Rafecas of Argentina <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/world/americas/argentine-judge-rejects-criminal-case-against-president.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news">dismissed a criminal complaint</a> against&nbsp;President&nbsp;Cristina Fern&aacute;ndez de Kirchner on Thursday, the latest—though likely not the last—development in an ongoing legal saga that has captivated the country. Prosecutor Alberto Nisman brought the initial allegations, which claimed that Kirchner&nbsp;had helped to shield Iranian officials involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85 people. But Nisman's colleagues were forced to carry on Nisman's work after the prosecutor was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/world/americas/alberto-nisman-found-dead-argentina-amia.html">found dead</a> of a shotgun wound in his apartment, with no witnesses, no suicide note, and no clear motivation.</p>
<p>Nisman's death spurred rumors of a government conspiracy to silence the prosecutor, who uncovered <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/world/americas/argentine-calls-detail-efforts-to-shield-iran.html">phone transcripts</a> said to reveal a secret deal between Iran and Argentina. According to Nisman's allegations, Kirchner's administration helped keep Iran's involvement in the bombing secret in exchange for low-cost oil. Kirchner&nbsp;herself has proposed an alternative conspiracy: She <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/world/americas/argentine-leader-attacks-spy-agency-amid-furor-over-prosecutors-death.html">believes</a> Nisman was assassinated by rogue spies, and has moved to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/27/us-argentina-prosecutor-reforms-idUSKBN0L001R20150127">dissolve</a> the country's intelligence service. (At other points, Kirchner&nbsp;has also <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/world/americas/argentine-leader-attacks-spy-agency-amid-furor-over-prosecutors-death.html">implied</a>&nbsp;that Nisman's aide killed him, linking the aide to a media group critical of her government.)</p>
<p>Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will appeal Thursday's ruling.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:46:56 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/argentine_judge_rules_that_criminal_investigation_into_the_president_is.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-26T20:46:56ZbriefingArgentine Judge Rules That Criminal Investigation Into the President Is&nbsp;Unwarranted227150226007Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/argentine_judge_rules_that_criminal_investigation_into_the_president_is.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty ImagesPresident Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.Cherry Factory Owner Commits Suicide After Getting Caught Running Marijuana Businesshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/maraschino_cherry_factory_owner_caught_running_marijuana_business_commits.html
<p>On Tuesday morning, investigators arrived at Dell's maraschino cherry factory in Brooklyn, New York to investigate reports that workers were dumping hazardous materials into the sewer system. While searching the office of Arthur Mondella, head of Dell's and grandson of the company's founder, investigators discovered a fake wall and, catching a whiff of marijuana, asked Mondella what lay behind it. Mondella asked to be excused to use the bathroom. On his way there, he yelled to his sister to take care of his kids. He then entered the bathroom, removed the handgun he kept strapped to his ankle, and <a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/02/24/sources-brooklyn-maraschino-cherry-company-owner-shot-killed-himself-during-investigation/">shot himself dead</a>.</p>
<p>What lay behind that wall, it turns out, was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/26/maraschino-cherry-king-caught-with-alleged-underground-marijuana-operation-commits-suicide/">marijuana</a>: For years, Mondella had <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/nyregion/marijuana-farm-found-at-a-cherry-business-in-brooklyn.html?_r=0">used his cherry factory</a> as a front for a <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/cherry-company-owner-kills-drug-operation-found-article-1.2127732">booming weed business</a>. Investigators discovered 80 to 90 pounds of marijuana, $200,000 of cash stuffed in suitcases, and three luxury cars—all stored underground beneath the factory. Apparently, Mondella carried out his drug operation with subtlety; Joe Morrine, the owner of a neighboring business, told reporters he never witnessed a hint of illicit conduct:</p>
<blockquote>
Morrine said he never suspected that the warehouse might contain a possible drug operation as authorities alleged.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“It doesn’t make sense that it would be a front; I mean, they’re a legitimate business. They’ve been around for a long time,” Morrine said. “Just a normal business operating; you know, lots of forklifts moving things in and out; nice people.”
</blockquote>
<p>Mondella, then, really was a true professional: Forklifts are a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWlOuE4G0e8">notoriously difficult aspect of drug production to master</a>.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 18:44:57 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/maraschino_cherry_factory_owner_caught_running_marijuana_business_commits.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-26T18:44:57ZbriefingCherry Factory Owner Commits Suicide After Getting Caught Running Marijuana&nbsp;Business227150226006Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/maraschino_cherry_factory_owner_caught_running_marijuana_business_commits.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Matt King/Getty ImagesCherries.Jeb Bush Backers Are Busing Supporters From K Street to CPAChttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/jeb_bush_at_cpac_backers_of_the_former_florida_governor_are_busing_supporters.html
<p>It sounds like Jeb Bush’s supporters are taking CPAC pretty seriously this year. Emails provided to <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> show that backers of the former Florida governor are busing supporters from downtown Washington D.C. to CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland, and organizing to get them day passes into the event.</p>
<p>One of the emails that went out this morning was from Fritz Brogan, a former advance man for then-President George W. Bush who (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/02/11/while-jeb-bush-woos-wealthy-donors-jeb-bush-jr-works-the-younger-set/">per the <em>Washington Post</em></a>) co-hosted a fundraiser for Jeb’s Right to Rise PAC earlier this month. A Bush insider confirmed to <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> that Bush’s Right to Rise PAC is helping organize the transportation.</p>
<p>“We strongly recommend arriving as early as possible to get a seat,” wrote Brogan in an email sent to undisclosed recipients. “Our ‘Early Rise’ team will be there at 7:30am onward helping reserve seats- if you want to join the early team, let me know.”</p>
<p>Brogan wrote that there were still available seats on buses leaving from K Street and Georgetown at noon on Friday to get to the event in time for Bush’s talk.</p>
<p>In another email sent last week to undisclosed recipients, Brogan discussed the importance of Bush supporters saving seats for each other before his talk.</p>
<p>“If you are able to come early, we would love to have your help at 7:30am reserving seats for fellow supporters,” he wrote.</p>
<p>One long-time CPAC insider said these organized efforts impressed him, and that he didn’t know of any other potential 2016 candidates busing backers in. Perhaps that’s because no other potential candidates are worried about the regular crowd turning against them—<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/26/cpac-attendees-plan-walk-out-jeb-bush/">the <em>Washington Times </em>reports today</a> that some CPAC attendees are planning “to stage an informal protest when he hits the stage.”</p>
<p>Eliana Johnson <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/414324/sean-hannity-interview-jeb-bush-cpac-eliana-johnson">reported at <em>National Review</em></a> that Bush won’t give a speech. Rather, she wrote that he will do a 20-minute Q&amp;A with Fox News host Sean Hannity. Bush is slated to appear on the mainstage at 1:40 p.m. Friday and we’ll let you know how it goes.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 18:15:55 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/jeb_bush_at_cpac_backers_of_the_former_florida_governor_are_busing_supporters.htmlBetsy Woodruff2015-02-26T18:15:55ZbriefingJeb Bush Backers Are Busing Supporters From K Street to CPAC227150226005Betsy WoodruffThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/jeb_bush_at_cpac_backers_of_the_former_florida_governor_are_busing_supporters.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Andy Jacobsohn/Getty ImagesJeb Bush will be happy to see some friendly faces in the crowd at CPAC.D.C. Shrugs Off GOP Threats, Legalizes Recreational Weed Anywayhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/d_c_legal_weed_despite_gop_efforts_mayor_muriel_bowser_presses_forward_with.html
<p>Recreational weed is now legal in the nation's capital—despite House Republicans' best efforts to stop it.</p>
<p>The new law officially went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Congressional Republicans had hoped to block legalization, but despite their last-second threats, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pressed forward with a law that district voters approved last fall by a margin of nearly 2-to-1.</p>
<p>As the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_POT_IN_DC?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Associated Press reminds us</a>, the nation's capital is now the first place east of the Mississippi where recreational pot is legal. It is also legal to posses small quantities of pot in Alaska, Colorado, and Washington state. The D.C. law makes it legal to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana for home use, and to grow up to three mature plants. But, unlike in Colorado and Washington, the sale of the drug remains illegal in the district.<br /> </p>
<p>Congress has final say over D.C. laws, and late last year Republicans tried to thwart the pot initiative as part of the so-called CRomnibus bill they used to keep the federal government running. <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/12/cromnibus_pot_laws_washington_has_quietly_become_much_more_pro_pot_that.html">As I explained at the time</a>, the attempted ban was inserted at the behest of a small band of anti-pot conservative hardliners led by Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, and ultimately neither the White House nor Democratic leaders were willing to make fighting it a priority. That rider was controversial and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/congresss-spending-bill-hypocritically-blocks-dcs-marijuana-initiative/2014/12/10/c90677f8-80b3-11e4-81fd-8c4814dfa9d7_story.html">hypocritical</a>—but in the end it appears to have been largely <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/09/dc-marijuana-blocked-congress_n_6298584.html">moot</a>.</p>
<p>The provision in question barred the city from using any funds to &quot;enact any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated&quot; with recreational use of drugs illegal under federal law. D.C. officials, however, say that was too little too late since district voters had already approved legalization the month before.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, House Republicans attempted once again to pressure Bowser into backing down. &quot;If you decide to move forward tomorrow with the legalization of marijuana in the District, you will be doing so in knowing and willful violation of the law,&quot; <a href="http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/letter-to-dc-mayor-muriel-bowser-regarding-initiative-71/1427/?hpid=z1">wrote House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz</a> and Rep. Mark Meadows, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the subcommittee that handles D.C. affairs.</p>
<p>That threat, however, appears to be largely bluster. According to the <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/house-republicans-warn-dc-mayor-not-to-legalize-pot/2015/02/25/2f784a10-bcb0-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html">Washington Post</a></em>, House Republicans have made no plans to challenge the law in court. If the government wanted to go after Bowser directly, it would most likely do so under the Anti-Deficiency Act, which makes it illegal to spend federal dollars that haven't been appropriated. That law has been used to dole out administrative punishment to government employees in the past, but no one has ever been convicted of violating it, according to the AP. The decision to prosecute also rests with the Justice Department, not House Republicans.</p>
<p>Still, that doesn't mean D.C. officials won't eventually pay the price. Congressional Republicans could still retaliate by cutting funding for other programs in the capital. Meadows, for one, has already warned that it could become&nbsp; &quot;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/with-marijuana-legalization-green-rush-is-on-in-dc/2015/02/25/23c3f1de-bc78-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html">very difficult for D.C.</a>&quot; to get the money it needs on other matters.<br /> </p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 17:40:31 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/d_c_legal_weed_despite_gop_efforts_mayor_muriel_bowser_presses_forward_with.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-26T17:40:31ZbriefingD.C. Shrugs Off GOP Threats, Legalizes Recreational Weed Anyway227150226004Josh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/d_c_legal_weed_despite_gop_efforts_mayor_muriel_bowser_presses_forward_with.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesRep. John Mica and his fellow House Republicans tried their best to stop D.C. from legalizing pot.ISIS Releases Video Showing Destruction of Priceless Artifactshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/isis_destroys_priceless_artifacts_in_new_video.html
<p>On Thursday the terrorist group ISIS <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/26/389256954/isis-video-shows-extremists-smashing-priceless-artifacts">released a YouTube video</a> showing the destruction of priceless artifacts in Mosul, Iraq, at the extremests' hands. Some of the artifacts, which were housed at a museum and a nearby archeological site, were nearly 2,500 years old, and served as precious records of the&nbsp;Parthian Empire. YouTube has since removed the video, but the <em>Huffington Post </em><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/26/new-isis-video_n_6759626.html">has the details</a>:&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote>
&quot;Oh Muslims, these artifacts that are behind me were idols and gods worshipped by people who lived centuries ago instead of Allah,&quot; a bearded man tells the camera as he stands in front of the partially demolished winged-bull.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&quot;The so-called Assyrians and Akkadians and others looked to gods for war, agriculture and rain to whom they offered sacrifices,&quot; he added, referring to groups that that left their mark on Mesopotamia for more than 5,000 years in what is now Iraq, eastern Syria and southern Turkey.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&quot;Our prophet ordered us to remove all these statues as his followers did when they conquered nations,&quot; the man in the video adds.&nbsp;
</blockquote>
<p>ISIS has already destroyed innumerable works of art and literature and obliterated several holy sites, including <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/08/01/3466867/why-isis-blew-up-jonahs-tomb/">the tomb</a> said to be the burial place of the prophet Jonah. This devastation is an integral part of the group's plan to establish a <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119259/isis-history-islamic-states-new-caliphate-syria-and-iraq">new caliphate</a>&nbsp;free of all religions except ISIS's own <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/">fundamentalist interpretation of Islam</a>.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 17:19:46 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/isis_destroys_priceless_artifacts_in_new_video.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-26T17:19:46ZbriefingISIS Releases Video Showing Destruction of Priceless Artifacts227150226003Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/isis_destroys_priceless_artifacts_in_new_video.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty ImagesDemonstrators hold up a flag in support of ISIS.The Most Important DHS Fight Is Now Between House and Senate Republicanshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/immigration_dhs_funding_senate_house_republicans_at_odds_over_how_to_fund.html
<p>Tick-tock. House and Senate Republicans remain at odds over how to keep the Department of Homeland Security funded without dropping their bid to block President Obama’s immigration reforms. They’re running out of time to find a solution—the department’s current funding is set to expire at midnight Friday.<br /> </p>
<p>House Republicans have so far refused to budge from their preferred strategy, which is to tie the department’s funding to legislation that would block the high-profile executive actions that Obama announced last fall. Senate Republicans don’t have the votes they need to break a Democratic filibuster and send that bill to the president’s desk (where it would face a certain veto). After trying and failing to pass the House bill four times, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally relented this week. On Wednesday the upper chamber voted,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/02/25/senate-democrats-clear-the-way-for-vote-on-clean-dhs-funding-bill/">98–2</a>, to move forward on plan to fund the department for the remainder of the fiscal year. The so-called clean funding bill included no immigration-blocking strings. If all goes as planned, the Senate could sign off on the bill as soon as Thursday.<br /> </p>
<p>That won’t end the drama—instead, it will only add to it. The House GOP’s rank-and-file members have shown no sign of backing down, and Speaker John Boehner isn’t saying whether he’ll bring up the Senate bill for a vote in his chamber. What happens next appears to be anyone’s guess. But perhaps the most accurate take on the state of play comes from a House Republican who spoke with&nbsp;<a href="http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/the-foggy-imperfect-no-good-end-game-on-dhs-funding/"><em>Roll Call</em>both on the record and off of it</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
Members are leaving the door open [to the Senate bill], so there’s a real possibility that they will vote for a DHS extension without immigration riders&nbsp;—&nbsp;a good sign for GOP leadership. But is it enough?
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“I don’t know,” said&nbsp;one Republican member, noting widespread disappointment that the Senate didn’t put up a bigger fight. “I’m not going to support a clean bill,” the lawmaker said. The Republican member was speaking on the record at the time, and when pressed again if he or she knew how this impasse would end, the lawmaker responded, “I honestly don’t.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
But grant that lawmaker anonymity to discuss what happens next, and that same Republican suddenly seems to know exactly what’s coming. “On background, we’re going to end up caving,” the member said. “We’ll get enough Republicans to pass a clean [DHS bill].”
</blockquote>
<p>Of course, even if Republicans ultimately cave, that still could happen after Friday’s deadline. Boehner will need at least 25 Republicans to cross the aisle and vote with Democrats to pass a clean bill—and he’ll no doubt want to wrangle a good deal more than that if he can. To make that happen, he may need to let DHS funding expire for a few days to show conservatives that he took the fight as far as he could.</p>
<p>Up until this week, the DHS stalemate was largely between Republicans and Democrats. The two parties (as always) remain at odds, but the more pressing fight is now the intraparty affair between Republicans in the House and Senate. On Wednesday morning&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/as-shutdown-nears-mcconnell-and-boehner-remain-far-apart-20150225">Boehner got everyone’s attention</a>when he told House members that he and McConnell hadn’t actually met in two weeks. (The pair later met that afternoon.) There are two ways to read that: The first is as evidence that this showdown is now between Boehner and McConnell as much as anyone else; the second that Boehner and McConnell are on the same page but that the House speaker needed to generate some good will from his rank-and-file by distancing himself from the Senate’s clean bill. Either way, it suggests this fight may last past Friday’s deadline.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 16:26:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/immigration_dhs_funding_senate_house_republicans_at_odds_over_how_to_fund.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-26T16:26:00ZbriefingThe Most Important DHS Fight Is Now a GOP-Only Affair227150226002politicsJosh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/immigration_dhs_funding_senate_house_republicans_at_odds_over_how_to_fund.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesSpeaker John Boehner hasn’t said whether he’ll have the House vote on the Senate’s DHS bill.Identity&nbsp;and Apparent Origin Story of ISIS’s “Jihadi John” Revealedhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/_jihadi_john_mohammed_emwazi_identity_of_isis_killer_responsible_for_beheadings.html
<p>The ISIS&nbsp;militant known as &quot;Jihadi John&quot;—the man in the black balaclava who seems to have beheaded several foreign hostages on video—was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jihadi-john-the-islamic-state-killer-behind-the-mask-is-a-young-londoner/2015/02/25/d6dbab16-bc43-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html?hpid=z1">identified Thursday by the <em>Washington Post</em></a> as Mohammed Emwazi, &quot;a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming.&quot;</p>
<p>The paper discovered Emwazi's identity from his friends and others familiar with his case. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/world/europe/jihadi-john-mohammed-emwazi-identified.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0"><em>New York Times</em> later confirmed the report</a> with an unnamed &quot;senior British security official,&quot; who told the paper that the British government had known Emwazi was the man behind the black&nbsp;balaclava for some time but had kept his name a secret for operational reasons. British and American officials, meanwhile, have refused to confirm the news on the record.</p>
<p>According to the reports, Emwazi, now 27, was born in Kuwait and later raised in a middle-class neighborhood in West London. He graduated with a degree in computer programing from the University of Westminster. &quot;Those who knew him say he was polite and had a penchant for wearing stylish clothes while adhering to the tenets of his Islamic faith,&quot; according to the <em>Post</em>. As for his radicalization, his friends suggest that the turning point occurred on the way to a post-graduation safari in Tanzania with friends:<br /> </p>
<blockquote>
Once they landed in Dar es Salaam, in May 2009, they were detained by police and held overnight. It’s unclear whether the reason for the detention was made clear to the three, but they were eventually deported. Emwazi flew to Amsterdam, where he claimed that an officer from MI5, Britain’s domestic security agency, accused him of trying to reach Somalia, where the militant group al-Shabab operates in the southern part of the country, according to e-mails that he sent to [Asim Qureshi, a research director at the rights group, CAGE] and that were provided to The Post. ...
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Emwazi and his friends were allowed to return to Britain. ... Shortly afterward, Emwazi decided to move to his birthplace, Kuwait, where he landed a job working for a computer company, according to the e-mails he wrote to Qureshi. He came back to London twice, the second time to finalize his wedding plans to a woman in Kuwait.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
In June 2010, however, counterterrorism officials in Britain detained him again — this time fingerprinting him and searching his belongings. When he tried to fly back to Kuwait the next day, he was prevented from doing so.
</blockquote>
<p>Eventually he made his way to Syria (exactly when or how remains unknown). In August of this year, he was featured in an ISIS video that appeared to show him beheading American journalist James Foley. What is believed to be the same balaclava-clad man with a British accent was then seen in a string of beheading videos that followed—those of American journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Peter Kassig. Just last month the&nbsp;militant was seen in a video with two Japanese hostages, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, before they were killed.<br /> </p>
<p>For more on Emwazi, check out the <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jihadi-john-the-islamic-state-killer-behind-the-mask-is-a-young-londoner/2015/02/25/d6dbab16-bc43-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html?hpid=z1">Post</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/world/europe/jihadi-john-mohammed-emwazi-identified.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0">Times</a></em> reports.<br /> </p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 14:55:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/_jihadi_john_mohammed_emwazi_identity_of_isis_killer_responsible_for_beheadings.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-26T14:55:00ZbriefingIdentity&nbsp;and Apparent Origin Story of ISIS’s “Jihadi John” Revealed227150226001Josh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/26/_jihadi_john_mohammed_emwazi_identity_of_isis_killer_responsible_for_beheadings.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Carl Court/Getty ImagesJournalists attempt to speak with residents of the home where Islamic State militant Mohammed Emwazi, who has come to be known as Jihadi John, is believed to have once lived, on Feb. 26, 2015, in London.KFC Comes Up With an Edible Coffee Cup That Is Thankfully Not Made of Chickenhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/kfc_s_edible_scoffee_coffee_cup.html
<p>I’m reluctant to write about the fact that KFC has apparently disrupted the fast-food industry with an <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/2/25/8106849/kfc-edible-coffee-cups-cookie-cups-buckets-fried-chicken">edible coffee cup</a>. The primary reason for this is it seems like the type of story, found on the ficklest Internet promenades, that exists only to make people (me) feel stupid for believing it in the first place. It’s like China’s the<em> People’s Daily</em> <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/29/fooled-by-the-onion-8-most-embarrassing-fails.html">reporting</a> (seriously) on the<em> Onion </em>for declaring Kim Jong-un the sexiest man alive—just with an extra whiff of willful <a href="http://uproxx.com/">Uproxxian</a> indifference to the truth.</p>
<p>With that said, and the general disclaimer that you probably shouldn’t be buying coffee from a fried-chicken joint no matter the circumstance, KFC appears to have shocked the world with its <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/25/kfc-edible-coffee-cup_n_6752366.html">ice cream cone–like reinvention</a> of the tired old (cardboard) coffee cup. The breakout product from the colonel is named the “Scoff-ee Cup.” Try to get past it.</p>
<p>The new coffee cone is “made from biscuit, wrapped in sugar paper and then lined with a layer of heat-resistant white chocolate to keep the coffee hot and the cup crispy,” <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11434220/KFC-to-offer-edible-coffee-cups.html">according to the<em> Telegraph</em></a>. The edible cups are also infused with different aromas including: coconut sun cream, freshly cut grass, and wild flowers. They’re obviously still working out some of the kinks.</p>
<p>Before you alter your morning routine to add a couple hundred extra daily calories, the Scoff-ee Cup is still only in the trial stage and is slated to hit KFC outlets in the U.K., which is now apparently more American than America.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 03:20:42 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/kfc_s_edible_scoffee_coffee_cup.htmlElliot Hannon2015-02-26T03:20:42ZbriefingKFC Comes Up With an Edible Coffee Cup That Is Thankfully Not Made of Chicken227150225012kfcElliot HannonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/kfc_s_edible_scoffee_coffee_cup.htmlfalsefalsefalseKFCChickenless edible coffee cups.Morgan Stanley Agrees to $2.6 Billion Settlement for Role in Housing Bubblehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/morgan_stanley_2_6_billion_settlement_for_mortgage_securities.html
<p>Morgan Stanley <a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/895421/000095010315001485/dp53743_8k2.htm">announced</a> a settlement with the federal government on Wednesday, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/morgan-stanley-to-pay-2-6-billion-to-settle-mortgage-cases-1424904275">agreeing to pay $2.6 billion</a> to resolve a probe into the mortgage-backed securities the bank traded that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.</p>
<p>The settlement, which comes as Attorney General Eric Holder prepares to leave the DOJ, is the latest in a string of Wall Street banks striking financial agreements for their role in inflating the housing bubble that sent the U.S. economy tumbling into the Great Recession. “Other large banks have already struck similar settlements, with Bank of America agreeing to pay a record $16.7 billion last year and JPMorgan Chase settling for $13 billion in 2013,” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/business/dealbook/morgan-stanley-in-2-6-billion-mortgage-settlement.html?_r=0">the <em>New York Times</em> reports</a>. “Compared with other Wall Street banks, Morgan Stanley was responsible for a smaller volume of securities backed by troubled mortgages, the investments at the heart of the settlements.”</p>
<p>Last year, Morgan Stanley <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/morgan-stanley-reaches-2-6-billion-mortgage-accord-with-u-s-">agreed</a> to pay $1.25 billion for the bad mortgage securities it sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.</p>
<p>“The size of the [latest] settlement is something of a blow for Morgan Stanley, which has been struggling to improve profitability since the financial crisis and has lagged behind some of its biggest competitors,” according to the <em>Times</em>. “Unlike other banks that have struck <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/foreclosures/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier">mortgage settlements</a>, Morgan Stanley did not strike a comprehensive deal to provide homeowner relief and dispense with the claims that have been put forward by various states.”</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 00:50:50 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/morgan_stanley_2_6_billion_settlement_for_mortgage_securities.htmlElliot Hannon2015-02-26T00:50:50ZbriefingMorgan Stanley Agrees to $2.6 Billion Settlement for Role in Housing Bubble227150225011financial crisisElliot HannonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/morgan_stanley_2_6_billion_settlement_for_mortgage_securities.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Mario Tama/Getty ImagesMorgan Stanley logo at the bank's headquarters.State Department Counterterrorism Official Accused of Soliciting Juvenile for Sexhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/state_department_counterterrorism_sex_solicitation_arrest_director_accused.html
<p>An official in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/25/state-department-official-charged-with-soliciting-a-juvenile-for-sex/">arrested Tuesday in Washington, D.C.,</a> and accused of soliciting a juvenile for sex. Daniel A. Rosen, 44, is being <a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Daniel-Rosen-State-Dept-Official-Charged-With-Soliciting-Minor-293990781.html">held without bond</a> and awaiting extradition to Virginia after he allegedly engaged in a series of online exchanges with an undercover officer from the Fairfax County Police Department’s Child Exploitation Unit.</p>
<p>State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged in <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_STATE_DEPARTMENT_ARREST_VAOL-?SITE=VALYD&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">a statement to the Associated Press</a> that a department employee had been arrested and has been placed on leave.</p>
<p>Rosen’s position as director of counterterrorism plans, programs, and policy put him in charge of “20+ personnel” and a $300 million budget, according to what appears to be his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dan-rosen/11/405/513">LinkedIn page.</a>&nbsp;The <a href="http://www.state.gov/j/ct/programs/index.htm">Bureau of Counterterrorism</a> at the State Department handles emergency readiness and anti-extremism programs and maintains working relationships with foreign governments on counterterrorism issues.</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 22:22:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/state_department_counterterrorism_sex_solicitation_arrest_director_accused.htmlBeth Ethier2015-02-25T22:22:00ZbriefingState Department Counterterrorism Official&nbsp;Accused of Soliciting Juvenile for Sex227150225010state departmentvirginiaBeth EthierThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/state_department_counterterrorism_sex_solicitation_arrest_director_accused.htmlfalsefalsefalseNicholas Kamm/AFP/GettyThe Department of State in Washington, D.C.Washington’s NFL Team Says the Trademark Office Violated Its Free Speech. It May Be Right.http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/washington_nfl_team_trademark_lawsuit_does_it_have_a_free_speech_claim.html
<p>Monday brought a new twist in the Washington NFL team’s legal quest to preserve its <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2013/08/washington_redskins_nickname_why_slate_will_stop_referring_to_the_nfl_team.html">racist name</a>: Attorneys for the team <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/24/redskins-canceling-trade_n_6744644.html">filed a lawsuit</a> against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, alleging that the USPTO’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/us-patent-office-cancels-redskins-trademark-registration-says-name-is-disparaging/2014/06/18/e7737bb8-f6ee-11e3-8aa9-dad2ec039789_story.html">cancellation of the team’s “Redskins” trademark</a> violated its First Amendment right to free speech. This argument is a desperate move by a <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2014/03/dan_snyder_washington_nfl_team_the_owner_s_cynical_new_effort_to_squelch.html">cynical man</a> to maintain a monopoly on an offensive ethnic slur. It is also probably correct.</p>
<p>Under <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1052">current federal law</a>, the USPTO may not register “scandalous” or “immoral” trademarks, or those that “disparage … or bring into contempt or disrepute … institutions, beliefs, or national symbols.” These rules may sound quite reasonable in theory. But in practice, they give the USPTO carte blanche to block any trademark it simply doesn’t like. Sometimes, the office’s decisions seem borderline homophobic—like when it <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dykes-on-Bikes-trademark-OKd-challenger-3233345.php">rejected</a> Dykes on Bikes’ application for a trademark. Sometimes they seem merely arbitrary—like when it <a href="http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-federal-circuit/1456011.html">refused to register</a> “1-800-JACK-OFF” but agreed to register Jack Off Jill because the latter trademark “relates at least in part to the nursery rhyme involving Jack and Jill, and therefore creates a double entendre.”</p>
<p>It’s precisely these kinds of capricious, potentially ideological decisions we don’t normally allow the government to make in the realm of speech. The USPTO argues that trademarks are different from normal expression, viewing them as a property right that only exists by the grace of Congress and is thus subject to heavy regulation. (The Supreme Court has held that Congress has <a href="http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1997/1997_97_371">vast discretion</a> over the expression that it enables and funds.) Moreover, companies can still <em>use</em> a canceled trademark; they are only barred from claiming a monopoly on it. At most, the government insists, a canceled trademark deprives companies of profit, not freedom of speech.</p>
<p>This argument, however, ignores the obvious fact that a company whose trademark is revoked is almost certain to change its name—meaning trademark revocation is, at bottom, government coercion of speech. (For that reason, the American Civil Liberties Union <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/redskins-wrong-legal">strongly opposes</a> the USPTO’s current guidelines.) Every civil libertarian should be bothered by a law that gives government officials the ability to sift through expression to decide which is “immoral” or “disparag[ing]” and which is socially acceptable. An enlightened USPTO may be trusted to use these guidelines to block only truly derogatory slurs. But the current rules are broad enough to grant a future, less scrupulous USPTO the power to play morality police, revoking every trademark that violates its examiners’ personal sense of decency.</p>
<p>There’s an easy solution here. Congress needs to revise federal law to bar <em>only</em> those trademarks that are outrageously disparaging toward minorities or women. The “scandalous” and “immoral” rules have got to go, as does the hazy language about protecting “beliefs” from “disparage[ment].” As the Supreme Court has <a href="http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1992/1992_92_515">acknowledged</a>, the government has an overwhelming interest in protecting disadvantaged classes of citizens from denigration and discrimination. Congress should give the USPTO power to keep such denigration out of trademark law and leave it at that. Until it does, the Washington NFL team will no doubt obnoxiously boast that it is boldly defending freedom of speech. And, irksomely, it won’t be entirely wrong. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 21:24:17 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/washington_nfl_team_trademark_lawsuit_does_it_have_a_free_speech_claim.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-25T21:24:17ZbriefingWashington’s NFL Team Says the Trademark Office Violated Its Free Speech. It May Be Right.227150225009Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/washington_nfl_team_trademark_lawsuit_does_it_have_a_free_speech_claim.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty ImagesPlease do not let Dan Snyder become a free-speech defender.&nbsp;Brooklyn Non-Mastermind Arrested After Allegedly Telling Federal Agents He Would Join ISIShttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/brooklyn_isis_arrests_three_accused_by_federal_authorities.html
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/nyregion/3-men-in-brooklyn-charged-supporting-isis.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;module=first-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0">Three Brooklyn residents have been arrested</a> and charged by federal authorities with attempting to provide material support to ISIS; one of the men was detained at JFK airport while attempting to board a flight to Istanbul. Two of the men, ages 24 and 30, are citizens of Uzbekistan. The other, 19, is a citizen of Kazakhstan. At least from initial accounts, they do not appear to have been extremely sophisticated in their planning; two of them allegedly initiated a plan to travel to Syria (a trip to be at least partly financed by the third) <em>after</em> one of them (Abdurasul <em></em> Hasanovich Juraboev) had already told federal agents that he supported ISIS and wanted to injure President Obama. From the <em>New York Times</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
On Aug. 26, Mr. Juraboev emailed with an administrator of a website affiliated with the Islamic State, asking about how to travel overseas now that he was being monitored.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“If right now I decide to go to the airport and go anywhere, except for Uzbekistan, they may arrest me. It’s because of what I told them about Obama,” he wrote. “What should I do? I need to sneak out of here with extreme caution without being noticed by them.”
</blockquote>
<p>Their efforts to avoid detection, of course, were unsuccessful. The 19-year-old <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/three-brooklyn-men-accused-of-plot-to-join-islamic-state-1424888001">who was arrested at JFK</a>, Akhror Saidakhmetov, allegedly told a federal informant at one point that his travel plans had been complicated when his mother, who had become afraid he would do exactly what he is now charged with doing, took his passport.<br /> </p>
<p>The men face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.<br /> </p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:37:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/brooklyn_isis_arrests_three_accused_by_federal_authorities.htmlBen Mathis-Lilley2015-02-25T20:37:00ZbriefingBrooklyn Men Arrested for Trying to Provide “Material Support” to ISIS227150225008Ben Mathis-LilleyThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/brooklyn_isis_arrests_three_accused_by_federal_authorities.htmlfalsefalsefalseCristinaMuraca/ShutterstockFederal district court in Brooklyn.Venezuela Is Running Out of Toilet Paperhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/venezuela_is_running_out_of_toilet_paper.html
<p>Cash-strapped Venezuela, which has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, after Saudi Arabia, and relies on oil for 95 percent of its export revenue, has been hit particularly hard by plummeting global prices. Still, it’s hard not to read a <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/tissue-paper-for-venezuelan-oil-swap-offered-by-trinidad">commodity-sharing deal</a> proposed by nearby Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister as anything but humiliating.&nbsp;</p>
<p>At a news conference Tuesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar suggested that her government would “purchase goods identified by the Government of Venezuela from T&amp;T’s manufacturers, such as tissue paper, gasoline, and parts for machinery,” and trade them for Venezuelan oil. It’s not clear if the Venezuelans are open to the deal, but they certainly need the goods.</p>
<p>Amid skyrocketing inflation and a contracting economy, Venezuelan consumers have been faced with widespread shortages of products. Nicol&aacute;s Maduro’s government blames hoarders looking to destabilize the government, but businesses and economists say it’s the result of government price controls that discourage production and restrictions on foreign currency and make it difficult for manufacturers to purchase raw materials.</p>
<p>Food, car parts, cooking oil, detergent, and household appliances have all been in short supply. But it’s toilet paper that has been the iconic product of the shortage, with fresh rolls quickly running out from stores amid overwhelming demand. In late 2013 the government <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/21/world/americas/venezuela-toilet-paper/">seized control of a toilet paper factory</a> and announced plans to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/16/venezuela-toilet-paper-shortage-50m">import millions of rolls</a>, but shortages have continued.</p>
<p>Not unrelatedly, the political situation remains volatile as well. The government published new guidelines in January allowing police to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31070279">use deadly force</a> against protesters if they felt they were at risk. And police did just that on Tuesday, killing a teenage boy <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/world/americas/police-kill-boy-during-protest-in-venezuela.html">during an anti-government demonstration</a> in the city of San Cristobal. Maduro also <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/article/Venezuelan-leader-seeks-to-rally-poor-with-6096651.php#/0">ordered the arrest</a> this week of a mayor he accused of attempting to orchestrate a coup.&nbsp;</p>
<p>So far, Maduro has been able to avoid major cuts to the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-19/venezuela-poor-keep-faith-in-maduro-s-subsidies-as-oil-plunges">popular social programs</a> instituted by his predecessor Hugo Ch&aacute;vez, but as shortages continue, the government’s finances worsen, and the politics get more rancorous, even the Chavista base is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/10/us-venezuela-chavistas-idUSKBN0JO1C820141210">starting to have doubts</a>.&nbsp;</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 18:14:21 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/venezuela_is_running_out_of_toilet_paper.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-25T18:14:21ZbriefingVenezuela Is Running Out of Toilet Paper227150225007Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/venezuela_is_running_out_of_toilet_paper.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Federico Parra/AFP/Getty ImagesAn employee waits to unload valuable merchandise while people line up outside a supermarket in Caracas on Jan. 20, 2015.Killer of American Sniper Found Not Insane, Sentenced to Life In Prisonhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/american_sniper_killer_found_not_insane_sentenced_to_life_in_prison.html
<p>A Texas jury found Eddie Ray Routh <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31617308">guilty of murder</a> on Tuesday evening, rejecting his insanity defense after barely two hours of deliberation. A judge quickly sentenced Routh to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Routh shot and killed Chris Kyle, author of <em>American Sniper</em>, and his friend Chad Littlefield on a shooting range in February 2013. Routh’s attorneys had argued that Routh’s severe psychosis prevented him from distinguishing between right and wrong at the time of the shooting. But jurors rejected that argument, <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20150225-american-sniper-jurors-ex-marine-knew-right-from-wrong.ece">telling reporters</a> they believed Routh was faking his mental problem.</p>
<p>Given Kyle’s immense fame—recently heightened by the blockbuster film adaptation of his <em>American Sniper—</em>ensuring a fair trial for Routh was never going to be easy. But by trying Routh in Stephenville, Texas, prosecutors probably secured a conviction <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-american-sniper-trial-20150204-story.html">before the trial even started</a>. As <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20150225-american-sniper-jurors-ex-marine-knew-right-from-wrong.ece">post-trial interviews</a> illustrate, jurors were exceedingly skeptical of Routh’s insanity defense, and many were likely fans of Kyle—a <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/american-sniper-jury-finds-ex-marine-guilty-of-murder-074015420.html">favorite son</a> of Stephenville, who attended a college there which has since named him an “outstanding young alumnus.” One juror claimed that “every time something bad happened, [Routh] pulled that card,” referring to Routh’s insistence that he suffered from profound mental problems. Yet the <em>New Yorker</em>’s Nicholas Schmidle <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/03/in-the-crosshairs">paints a very different picture</a> of Routh’s mental health:</p>
<blockquote>
Routh’s depression and weariness remained, and he began to exhibit symptoms more commonly associated with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. “He would get into these moods where you could understand what he was saying, but you had no idea where it was coming from,” Laura said. “We were talking, and he was, like, ‘Man, I’m ready to hit those ski slopes.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And he’s like, ‘You know, that would be great. Catch some powder?’ I’ve never been skiing in my life. And we had just been talking about fishing. He would just make absolutely no sense.” Some of the things he said had a conspiratorial tone. He once told Laura, “There’s gonna be a conviction. I’m gonna tell everything, and it’s not going to be what you think.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Jen was also worried about Routh. “He was going through a big bout of depression,” she said. “He would go hours without speaking. He was obviously off.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Routh could no longer manage the anxiety of driving a car, and he moved back home. Jodi recalled, “I was so afraid I’d come home from work sometime and find him dead.”
</blockquote>
<p>Routh was also hospitalized in mental institutions <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/24/american-sniper-murder-trial-verdict/23896859/">four times</a> in the seven months before he killed Kyle and Littlefield. While hospitalized, Routh was given anti-psychotic drugs to combat his paranoid delusions. His last hospitalization occurred days before he killed Kyle and Littlefield. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/24/american-sniper-murder-trial-verdict/23896859/">After the shooting</a>, he went to Taco Bell and ordered two burritos. In his confession to the police, Routh explained that “pigs were taking over the earth.” He will now be sent to prison for the rest of his life.&nbsp;</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 18:08:56 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/american_sniper_killer_found_not_insane_sentenced_to_life_in_prison.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-25T18:08:56ZbriefingKiller of
<em>American Sniper </em>Found Not Insane, Sentenced to Life In Prison227150225006Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/american_sniper_killer_found_not_insane_sentenced_to_life_in_prison.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Tom Fox-Pool/Getty ImagesEddie Ray Routh, convicted murderer.&nbsp;Rahm Emanuel Faces Historic Chicago Mayoral Runoffhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/chicago_mayor_rahm_emanuel_fails_to_win_majority_in_re_election_bid_faces.html
<p>Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election bid hit a snag Tuesday when he was forced into an April runoff with Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia after failing to win a majority of the vote.</p>
<p>As the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> notes, it is the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/chi-chicago-mayor-election-20150224-story.html#page=1">first time the city has seen a mayoral race go to a runoff</a>.</p>
<p>Though Emanuel finished more than 10 points ahead of the nearest challenger, it’s difficult not to interpret the historic runoff as a defeat of sorts for the notoriously profane former Obama chief of staff, who had a much higher profile and much more money than his lesser-known challengers. More from the <em>Tribune</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
With 98 percent of the city’s precincts counted, unofficial results showed Emanuel with 45.4 percent and Cook County commissioner Garcia at 33.9 percent. Businessman Willie Wilson had 10.6 percent, 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti had 7.4 percent and frequent candidate William “Dock” Walls was at 2.8 percent.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Emanuel, who spent millions on TV ads to try to repair his image with voters following a difficult four years, attempted to portray optimism and patience despite the results.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“We have come a long way and we have a little bit further to go. This is the first step in a real important journey in our city,” Emanuel told supporters. “For those who voted for someone else, I hope to earn your confidence and your support in the weeks to come.”
</blockquote>
<p>The paper cited the main reasons for Emanuel’s inability to win re-election cleanly as “voter dissatisfaction with Emanuel’s decision to close 50 schools, his standoff with teachers during their 2012 strike and his struggles to tamp down violent crime, which spiked at times the last four years.”</p>
<p>Garcia, a former alderman and state senator who <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chuy-garcia-met-20150224-story.html">fought to win the backing of Chicago’s progressive liberals</a>, was already out and campaigning again Wednesday morning after four hours of sleep, <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/chi-jesus-chuy-garcia-says-hes-ready-for-round-two-against-mayor-rahm-emanue-20150225-story.html">the <em>Tribune </em>reported</a>, greeting voters outside of an El train stop in the Near North Side of Chicago.</p>
<p>“We were up against huge amounts of money and people with power who lined up to protect the status quo,” said Garcia. “Voters rejected that. They want a deeper debate, and we intend on giving them that. We’re very enthused that the voice of ordinary Chicagoans is being heard and that, as we move forward, it bodes well for Chicago’s democracy.”</p>
<p>Emanuel also campaigned at an El stop Wednesday morning, but the campaign would not notify <em>Tribune</em>&nbsp;reporters in advance where.</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 17:42:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/chicago_mayor_rahm_emanuel_fails_to_win_majority_in_re_election_bid_faces.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-25T17:42:00ZbriefingRahm Emanuel Faces Historic Chicago Mayoral Runoff227150225005Rahm EmanuelJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/chicago_mayor_rahm_emanuel_fails_to_win_majority_in_re_election_bid_faces.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Scott Olson/Getty ImagesOh, shoot.Supreme Court Fish Case: Alito Saves the Day, Kagan Cites Dr. Seusshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/the_supreme_court_cited_dr_seuss_in_its_fish_case.html
<p>On Wednesday morning the Supreme Court handed down <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/13-7451_m64o.pdf">an opinion</a> in <em>Yates v. United States</em>, a closely watched, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/supreme_court_dispatches/2014/11/supreme_court_fish_destruction_of_evidence_case_jokes_outrage_and_hating.html">fiercely joked-about</a> case filled with drama, cover-ups, and fish.&nbsp;<em>Yates</em> involved a Florida fisherman who was caught illegally reeling in undersized grouper. Officials ordered the fisherman, Yates, to preserve the evidence of his crime, the shrimpy grouper themselves. Instead, Yates ordered his crew to toss them overboard. In response, the feds charged him under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which forbids the destruction of “any record, document, or tangible object” with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.</p>
<p>Yates fought back, insisting that undersized grouper didn’t qualify as a “tangible object” under the Sarbanes-Oxley, which was enacted following the Enron scandal to stop financial firms from shredding incriminating documents. In a closely divided ruling, the Supreme Court sided with Yates, with a plurality of the justices reading the statute to cover “only objects one can use to record or preserve information, not all objects in the physical world.” Justice Samuel Alito concurred in the judgment, providing a key fifth vote for Yates, noting that “the statute’s list of nouns, its list of verbs, and its title” all apply to “filekeeping,” not fish. This, Alito held, “tip[s] the case in favor of Yates.”</p>
<p>In a strange instance of ideological gallimaufry, Justice Elena Kagan dissented, joined by the more conservative justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Anthony Kennedy. Kagan—whose breezy yet stinging dissents are quickly becoming legendary—advocates for a more “conventional” reading of the law, writing that “a ‘tangible object’ is an object that’s tangible.” She then drops what must be one of the more amazing citations ever issued by a Supreme Court justice:</p>
<blockquote>
As the plurality must acknowledge, the ordinary meaning of “tangible object” is “a discrete thing that possesses physical form.” A fish is, of course, a discrete thing that possesses physical form. See generally Dr. Seuss, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960).
</blockquote>
<p>So, it was all wit and sallies at the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning—except for John Yates, who came one vote away from facing up to 20 years in prison, and for grouper, which could <a href="http://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/overfishing-grouper">soon go extinct</a> due to overfishing. In the end,&nbsp;<em>Yates </em>turned out to be a startlingly close call for a case destined to become better known for fish jokes than for statutory interpretation. Court-watchers, brace yourselves: The next four months are going to be rough, rough sledding.</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 17:06:55 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/the_supreme_court_cited_dr_seuss_in_its_fish_case.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-25T17:06:55ZbriefingSupreme Court Fish Case: Alito Saves the Day, Kagan Cites Dr. Seuss227150225004Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/the_supreme_court_cited_dr_seuss_in_its_fish_case.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty ImagesElena Kagan, Dr. Seuss scholar.Reddit Has Banned Revenge Porn. Sort Of.http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/reddit_bans_revenge_porn_victims_advocates_and_the_aclu_react_to_the_new.html
<p>Last August, private nude photos of dozens of female celebrities were hacked, stolen, and published online. The Fappening, as it came to be called, was a collaborative effort between lecherous anonymous users from across the Web. But the event soon became closely associated with Reddit, the largest online platform on which Fappening hackers and supporters spread the photos. Reddit’s administrators seemed unperturbed that their community had been converted, almost overnight, into the world’s highest-profile stolen-porn platform. But after some of the famous women captured in the photos filed takedown requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, arguing that Reddit posters had no ownership over the content they were publishing—most were selfies, snapped and owned by the celebs themselves—Reddit admins publicly denounced the theft of the images and dutifully removed them, reducing the platform’s legal liability. Meanwhile, the many <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/1458377/the-fappening-gets-banned-by-reddit-but-it-wasnt-the-worst-subreddit-on-the-site/">non-famous people who have been exposed on the site without their consent</a>—the ones who don’t hold the rights to pictures of themselves, or who lack the lawyers to make a stink—were out of luck.</p>
<p>Now, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is calling Reddit’s response to that event “a missed chance to be a leader” on the revenge porn issue. Starting March 10, nude or sexual images shared without the consent of the subject will be banned from the platform, no DMCA takedown requests required. “No matter who you are, if a photograph, video, or digital image of you in a state of nudity, sexual excitement, or engaged in any act of sexual conduct, is posted or linked to on reddit without your permission, it is prohibited on reddit,” he <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/2x0g9v/from_1_to_9000_communities_now_taking_steps_to/">announced in a post on the site Tuesday</a>. “We also recognize that violent personalized images are a form of harassment that we do not tolerate and we will remove them when notified.”</p>
<p>Advocates for victims of online harassment are impressed. “This announcement is very significant,” says Mary Anne Franks, a law professor at the University of Miami.* “For such an influential and popular social platform to validate what victims and victims advocates have been saying—privacy is about consent, and consent is contextual—is really heartening.” Reddit’s decision also has the potential to influence norms across the Web. By announcing itself as a leader on the issue, Reddit is “throwing down the gauntlet to other platforms” to follow suit, Franks says.</p>
<p>Danielle Citron, a law professor at the University of Maryland and the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0674368290/?tag=slatmaga-20"><em>Hate Crimes in Cyberspace</em></a>, adds that Reddit’s rule sets a remarkably fair standard for revenge porn victims seeking to clear the Web of damaging images of themselves. Platforms could easily force victims to “file a police report to verify that the photo is theirs and that it was posted in violation of their trust and without consent in states that ban such invasions of sexual privacy,” Citron says. Instead, Reddit has signaled an openness to taking victims at their word. “The approach arguably strikes the right balance,” says Citron: It respects the fact that “pornography and amateur porn is fully protected speech” while recognizing that “nude images posted without the subjects' consent is a violation of sexual privacy and won't be tolerated.”</p>
<p>Still, Reddit’s rule is far from a final solution to the revenge porn problem. Franks cautions that Reddit’s announcement also functions as “a reminder of the industry's likely hostility to government intervention on these kinds of issues.” It’s perhaps no coincidence that Reddit has finally altered its policies just as Rep. Jackie Speier <a href="http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/being-woman-online-rep-jackie-speiers-plan-combat-revenge-porn/">plans to introduce federal legislation</a> aimed at cracking down on revenge porn—a move that has potentially deleterious implications for platform owners and operators. “Reddit’s move may have in fact been prompted in part by a desire to demonstrate that private companies can handle this problem themselves,” Franks says. And even Reddit, which Franks says is now “leaps and bounds beyond what most platforms are doing,” has room to improve. Franks proposes a “victim-protective” consent form system, wherein “users must submit a signed consent form from the person depicted before they can post private explicit images” on a given website. And Citron imagines that platforms like Reddit could better protect revenge porn victims by compiling private databases of nonconsensual porn—just like ones that already exist for child pornography—that are capable of recognizing offending images and removing them from view automatically.</p>
<p>Civil libertarians are also monitoring the situation, concerned that the anti-revenge-porn rule might be so broad that it ends up censoring lewd speech that doesn’t pose a serious privacy violation. “Creating a takedown regime is often fraught, for reasons unrelated to the content,” says Lee Rowland, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. It remains unclear how Reddit will authenticate requests from victims (after all, anyone who objects to nudity or just wants to troll the site could file a complaint), and how it will deal with nude photos that are snapped outside of private moments—like when a drunk guy streaks at a public football game, sobers up, then wants all evidence of his jaunt erased. Protecting user privacy is “a laudable goal,” Rowland says, and Reddit is within its rights to make decisions about the types of content it hosts on its platform. Still, “anytime a company creates the potential for censorship, it should be very clear about the ground rules in order to avoid making its users frustrated and confused.” She suggests that Reddit send notices to users when their content is removed, and give them the opportunity to challenge the decision with evidence that it did not violate the site’s guidelines.</p>
<p>That sounds like a bit of a logistical nightmare, but it remains to be seen how effective Reddit’s new rule will be in scrubbing revenge porn from the site as is. Notably, the new regulation is addressed to the<em> </em>subjects of non-consensual pornography, not to the Reddit users who actually post the stuff. It puts the onus on revenge porn victims to alert administrators after the fact, not on users to gain consent before posting. Also, while the rule will be incorporated into Reddit’s <a href="https://www.reddit.com/help/privacypolicy#section_involuntary_pornography">privacy policy</a>, it does not constitute a violation of the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/rules">five central Rules of Reddit</a>, and it’s not clear whether users who post revenge porn will be reprimanded or banned for doing so. Ohanian has said that Reddit will tally up “how often these takedowns occur in our yearly privacy report,” but advocates across the spectrum are looking for a degree of transparency that goes beyond statistics. I’ve called Reddit for comment, and will update if I hear back.</p>
<p><em><strong>*Correction, Feb. 25, 2015: </strong>This post originally misspelled Mary Anne Franks' name.</em><br /> </p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 16:36:30 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/reddit_bans_revenge_porn_victims_advocates_and_the_aclu_react_to_the_new.htmlAmanda Hess2015-02-25T16:36:30ZbriefingReddit Has Banned Revenge Porn. Sort Of.227150225003revenge pornAmanda HessThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/reddit_bans_revenge_porn_victims_advocates_and_the_aclu_react_to_the_new.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto illustration by Slate. Photo by Jussi Pernaa/ThinkstockIs Obama Trying to Get Payback on Netanyahu With Rice’s “Destructive” Remarks?http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/susan_rice_destructive_comments_is_the_obama_administration_trying_to_get.html
<p>The Obama administration took its sharpest jab at Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned Congressional speech next week, as National Security Adviser Susan Rice called the visit “destructive” on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“On both sides there has now been injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it’s destructive of the fabric of the relationship,” Rice told Charlie Rose.</p>
<p>After specifically referencing the timing of Netanyahu’s visit as coming shortly in advance of Israel’s election in less than three weeks, Rice declined to say that he was visiting in order to boost his electoral prospects.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to ascribe motives to the prime minister,” she said. “The point is, we want the relationship between the United States and Israel to be unquestionably strong, immutable, regardless of political seasons in either country, regardless of which party may be in charge in either country.”</p>
<p>The visit, during which Netanyahu is anticipated to argue against a nuclear deal with Iran, was orchestrated by House Speaker John Boehner without the knowledge of the Obama administration and has been criticized as a break in diplomatic protocol</p>
<p>“[The relationship between Israel and the United States has] always been bipartisan,” Rice said. “We need to keep it that way. We want it that way. I think Israel wants it that way. The American people want it that way. And when it becomes injected or infused with politics, that’s a problem.”</p>
<p>The idea that the relationship has always been bipartisan was actually tested three years ago when Netanyahu was seen as having attempted to influence the 2012 election in favor of Obama’s opponent Mitt Romney.</p>
<p>Romney and the Israeli prime minister were <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/israels-netanyahu-takes-heat-after-obama-victory/">friends for over three decades</a> and during the campaign he and campaign booster Sheldon Adelson visited Israel together as Netanyahu’s guest. They also took part in a fundraiser for Romney in Jerusalem, and Netanyahu was featured in a pro-Romney campaign ad.</p>
<p>Though the Israeli ambassador <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/12/12/israeli-ambassador-bibi-didnt-meddle-in-us-election">denied after the fact that any meddling had occurred</a>, the moves were reportedly <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/in-israel-we-speak-republican-1.464972">viewed in both Israel and the United States</a> as blatant politicking by Netanyahu.</p>
<p>“A very senior Israeli figure who is in close touch with members of the U.S. administration relates in private conversations that in the eyes of the Democratic administration, Netanyahu is perceived as campaigning on behalf of Mitt Romney,” wrote <em>Haaretz</em>’s Yossi Verter.</p>
<p>After the election, former prime minister and Netanyahu rival Ehud Olmert <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/u-s-elections-2012/olmert-netanyahu-interfered-in-u-s-elections-for-sheldon-adelson-1.475990">accused him of attempting to interfere in the U.S. elections</a> against diplomatic protocol.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&quot;What took place this time was a breaking of all the rules, when our prime minister intervened in the U.S. elections in the name of an American billionaire with a clear interest in the vote,&quot; Olmert said at the time.</p>
<p>With all of this history, it seems worth asking: Was Rice’s rebuke the Obama administration’s way of getting payback on Netanyahu for 2012?</p>
<p>If Rice’s rebuke is Obama’s version of turnabout, then it seems doubtful anyone in the administration will say so. Even while criticizing Netanyahu’s speech plans, Rice took pains to say that the administration wanted a continued strong bipartisan relationship with Israel.</p>
<p>“The relationship between Israel as a country and the United States as a country has always been bipartisan. And we’ve been fortunate that politics have not been injected into that relationship,” Rice said. “We’ve worked very hard to have that and we will work very hard to maintain that.”</p>
<p>Further compounding the view that partisan politics have already begun to fray the relationship, Netanyahu <a href="http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0LT02520150225?irpc=932">rejected</a> on Tuesday&nbsp;an invitation to visit with Senate Democrats because “I believe doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit.”</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 16:28:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/susan_rice_destructive_comments_is_the_obama_administration_trying_to_get.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-25T16:28:00ZbriefingIs Obama Trying to Get Payback on Netanyahu With Rice’s “Destructive” Remarks?227150225002israelbenjamin netanyahuJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/susan_rice_destructive_comments_is_the_obama_administration_trying_to_get.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty ImagesThese guys are like two peas in a pod.This Week Has Been an Unexpectedly Great One for Democratshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/democratic_victories_liberals_notch_political_victory_on_keystone_and_appear.html
<p>Harry Reid arrived at work on Tuesday morning sporting a pair of dark sunglasses, a noted departure from the eye patch he’s been wearing since suffering a rather gruesome eye injury during a New Year’s Day workout. “It hasn’t healed,” <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/harry-reid-dark-glasses-115461.html#ixzz3ShtSlo9c">the Senate’s top Democrat told reporters</a> after being asked whether the change was a sign he was on the mend. “I have to be patient.”</p>
<p>On Tuesday, patience began paying off for Reid’s battered party as Democrats notched several political victories. First came the strongest sign yet that <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html">congressional Republicans have badly misplayed their hand</a> in the fight over President Obama’s immigration reforms; then a <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keystone_xl_pipeline_authorization_is_president_obama_s_third_veto_since.html">presidential veto of the GOP’s Keystone bill</a>; and, in the late afternoon, the news that Republicans have effectively <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/technology/path-clears-for-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote.html">given up on fighting net neutrality</a>, paving the way for the FCC, later this week, to approve regulations that would treat the Internet as a public good. All in all, that’s a pretty great day for a man who is still regaining vision in his right eye and for a party that controls neither chamber of Congress.</p>
<p>Of course, Reid and his fellow congressional Democrats don’t deserve all—or even most of—the credit for those political victories. Try as they might, they couldn’t derail the GOP’s Keystone bill last month, and in the process&nbsp;<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/01/senate_keystone_votes_republicans_gave_democrats_and_the_climate_an_even.html">lost the short-term messaging battle</a>&nbsp;over whether man-made climate change is as real as the science tells us it is. Instead, it was the environmental groups that turned the polarizing pipeline into a climate litmus test that Obama couldn’t risk failing. Likewise, the looming net neutrality victory—along with the GOP’s decision to give up on trying to overturn it—was the result of what the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/technology/path-clears-for-net-neutrality-ahead-of-fcc-vote.html"><em>New York Times</em>&nbsp;called</a>&nbsp;“the longest, most sustained campaign of Internet activism in history, one the little guys appear to have won.” (Reid is not the little guys.)</p>
<p>Still, sometimes playing a bad hand will win when the other guy misplays a stronger one—something the ongoing immigration fight illustrates. For the most part, Democrats have simply sat back and weathered the storm as Republicans pressed on with plans to tie funding for the Department of Homeland Security to efforts to block Obama’s high-profile reforms. The GOP plan was DOA almost as soon as it was hatched late last year, yet Senate Republicans waited until this week—with only days left until funding for the agency expires—to pivot to a plan B that still appears to be a long shot and that in their realistic best-case scenario <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html">ends with the DHS funded and Obama vetoing their efforts to block immigration reform</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, a victory today doesn’t guarantee one tomorrow. Democrats know there is serious trouble on the horizon in the form of two lawsuits that could hand Republican lawmakers the wins they have been unable to produce for themselves of late. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will most likely decide <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/17/obama_immigration_reforms_halted_texas_federal_judge_hanen_makes_order.html">whether or not the White House can indeed press on</a> with the immigration reforms that Republicans are currently attempting to undermine. And that case is arguably small potatoes compared with <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/10/plaintiffs_in_king_v_burwell_obamacare_suit_might_not_have_standing.html">the one the Supreme Court is set to hear next month</a> regarding whether people who got insurance through the federal exchanges can keep their subsidies.</p>
<p>If the White House loses either of those legal battles, its allies in Congress will no longer be able to claim victory by simply avoiding defeat. But for this week at least, Reid and co. can do just that.</p>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 13:11:03 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/democratic_victories_liberals_notch_political_victory_on_keystone_and_appear.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-25T13:11:03ZbriefingThis Week Has Been an Unexpectedly Great One for Democrats. Here’s Why.227150225001politicsJosh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/25/democratic_victories_liberals_notch_political_victory_on_keystone_and_appear.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesHarry Reid had a good day on Tuesday.Egyptian Journalist Faces Libel and Slander Charges Over Role in Gay Bathhouse Raidhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/mona_iraqi_controversial_journalist_tv_station_owner_face_charges_over_role.html
<p>Mona Iraqi, an Egyptian journalist who drew international attention last year for allegedly instigating a raid on a gay bathhouse in Cairo in order to generate a story about AIDS, will stand trial on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2015/02/23/mona-iraqi-tv-channel-owner-face-court-bathhouse-sting/#dnePhoto/0/">libel and slander charges</a> for her role in the vice squad operation, reports<em>&nbsp;Daily News Egypt. </em>The owner of the television station that aired the program has reportedly also been charged.</p>
<p>Twenty-six men were arrested when police <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/09/egypt-police-raid-cairo-bath-house">entered the bathhouse</a>&nbsp;in December, bringing the establishment’s patrons into the street in various states of undress before booking them on charges ranging from “debauchery” to “organizing same-sex orgies.” The overt role of the media in leading the raid brought renewed debate over ties between the Egyptian government and the press.</p>
<p>From the<em> Guardian'</em>s&nbsp;coverage at the time of the arrests:</p>
<blockquote>
The men were dragged half-naked into police trucks in the late night raid, which was filmed by a private television crew headed by presenter Mona Iraqi.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Iraqi and her colleagues later claimed on Facebook and in a YouTube video that they had led the police to the bathhouse on the unsubstantiated suspicion that its customers were a potential source of AIDS.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
“Watch the bold Mona Iraqi reveal in a series of investigative episodes the secret behind the spreading of AIDS in Egypt,” stated a&nbsp;trailer&nbsp;for their program, which was presented as a journalistic scoop and a tie-in with World AIDS Day.
</blockquote>
<p>The defendants were acquitted of all charges by the Azbekeya Misdemeanor Court, but some have claimed to face intimidation and shame after being revealed as visitors to the bathhouse. One man swept up in the raid <a href="http://paper-bird.net/2015/02/16/one-of-mona-iraqis-victims-tries-to-burn-himself-to-death/">reportedly tried to commit suicide by setting himself on fire.</a>&nbsp;He later told an Egyptian newspaper that he had been “harassed constantly in my workplace” and was “suffering neglect and ill-treatment” at the hospital where he was taken after his suicide attempt, according to <a href="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/02/16/man-arrested-egyptian-bathhouse-attempts-suicide/">a report in the <em>Washington Blade.</em></a></p>
<p>While homosexuality is not specifically outlawed in Egypt, authorities sometimes use a provision of an anti-prostitution law to <a href="http://egyptianstreets.com/2015/02/23/egyptian-television-host-behind-gay-cairo-bathhouse-raid-to-stand-trial/">arrest men suspected of homosexual acts</a> on charges of “inciting debauchery and immorality.”</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:08:13 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/mona_iraqi_controversial_journalist_tv_station_owner_face_charges_over_role.htmlBeth Ethier2015-02-24T23:08:13ZbriefingEgyptian Journalist Faces Libel and Slander Charges Over Role in Gay Bathhouse Raid227150224015egyptjournalismhomosexualityBeth EthierThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/mona_iraqi_controversial_journalist_tv_station_owner_face_charges_over_role.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty ImagesLife for gay men in Cairo can be perilous.Keith Olbermann Is a Smug Elitist. But He Wasn’t Entirely Wrong About Penn State.http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_from_espn_after_twitter_fight_over_penn_state.html
<p>What kind of jerk criticizes students <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_by_espn_for_stupid_tweets.html">who raise money for kids with cancer</a>?</p>
<p>Keith Olbermann makes no secret of the disgust he harbors for Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal; in January, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSBVO6rU57A">declared</a> the NCAA and PSU “the worst in sports.” His well-documented disdain for the institution is probably what inspired a Penn Stater to mention him Sunday in a proud tweet about the 2015 Penn State Dance Marathon, an annual fundraiser (known on campus as THON) that raises money for children with cancer.</p>
<p>“We Are!” refers to the Nittany Lion chant “We are … Penn State.” And Four Diamonds—an organization that helps families pay for cancer treatment, funds research, and more—is the recipient of the THON money.</p>
<p>Olbermann responded to the “We are” tweet with one word: “…Pitiful.”</p>
<p>Soon Penn State students and others were attacking him, and he was hitting right back.</p>
<p>The pompous, elitist tirade earned him a suspension from ESPN. (Olbermann, if you’re wondering, went to Cornell—<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBUz4RnoWSM">ever heard of it</a>?) As a Penn State alumna who knows the difference between <em>your</em> and <em>you’re</em>, I’m pleased to see him get spanked on this one. But I also think that he wasn’t entirely wrong to roll his eyes at attempts to use THON to deflect criticism about the university.</p>
<p>THON is <a href="https://thon.org/About">billed</a> as “the largest student-run philanthropy in the world.” Groups and organizers spend the fall semester and first month of the spring semester preparing for it. On designated “canning” weekends, clubs, Greek organizations, and other clusters of students fan out from State College, Pa., to stand at street corners and collect money. At the main event, held this past weekend, more than 700 students serve as “dancers” who go 46 hours without sitting or sleeping. The idea, as I understand it, is to give the dancers a taste of the pain that kids with cancer endure.</p>
<p>It’s a noble goal. But when I was on campus, as THON got closer each year, the scent of self-congratulations grew stronger. The THON slogan is FTK—“for the kids.” In my more cynical moments, I sometimes thought that it should be “FTT”—“for the T-shirt.”</p>
<p>In the <em>Deadspin</em> comments, another alum <a href="http://deadspin.com/went-to-psu-for-undergrad-got-my-first-masters-there-1687760651">put it nicely</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
THON had great results, but to me it always seemed to serve as a vessel for fraternities, sororities, and those that crave attention to pat themselves on the back. There are a lot of people who participate selflessly, but the most vocal element are those that want the attention for “doing a great thing.” To boot, most of the fundraising doubles as a social/ pledge event for a lot of the greeks. TL; DR - great results, questionable means.
</blockquote>
<p>The results <em>are </em>great, and many of the participants are entirely sincere. But still, some students, especially Greeks, use it to excuse a lot of things: You can’t criticize fraternities—we raise money for kids with cancer!</p>
<p>It’s unfair for Olbermann to condemn the entire university because of the child sex abuse scandal (or because a few students on Twitter made grammatical mistakes that are widely accepted on the platform). Though the campus culture went too far in worshipping football, the ones to blame for the abuse are Jerry Sandusky and the handful of men who shielded him—including, yes, Joe Paterno. I railed about my <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2011/11/jerry_sandusky_penn_state_s_sex_abuse_scandal_reveals_the_school_s_moral_hypocrisy_.html">alma mater’s moral hypocrisy</a> after the scandal broke, and I remain furious about it. But it’s also illogical and disingenuous for Penn Staters to use THON as a shield against criticism. What did the original tweeter expect from Olbermann? I can’t imagine that she genuinely thought he would say, “You’re right. I’ve been unjust all along.”</p>
<p>Despite his presumably ESPN-mandated <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/570285795698999296">apologetic tweet</a>, I doubt that Olbermann will emerge from his suspension with a greater respect for the school. And he’s right not to change his mind based on a fundraiser.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:07:36 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_from_espn_after_twitter_fight_over_penn_state.htmlTorie Bosch2015-02-24T23:07:36ZbriefingKeith Olbermann Is a Smug Elitist. But He Wasn’t Entirely Wrong About Penn State.227150224014penn statekeith olbermanncollege footballTorie BoschThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_from_espn_after_twitter_fight_over_penn_state.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesKeith Olbermann: not a Nittany Lion fanPenn State Alum at Center of Olbermann Suspension Hopes He Learns Somethinghttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspension_the_espn_host_s_penn_state_twitter_feud_explained.html
<p>The Penn State alumna who sent the tweet that provoked the tirade that <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_by_espn_for_stupid_tweets.html">got Keith Olbermann suspended from ESPN for the rest of the week</a> says she was hoping to get Olbermann to “lighten up” on the university when she sent him a link to a story about the school’s pediatric cancer research fundraiser.</p>
<p>“I certainly didn't send my tweet to him in the hopes of getting him suspended,” Lisa Aiello Deleon told me over email. “I sent it to educate him in hopes he would recognize the good that Penn State does and has done, and in hope that he might lighten up on us a bit in the future.”</p>
<p>Aiello Deleon tweeted at the ESPN host the partial <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=we+are+penn+state&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS552US552&amp;es_sm=119&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=ofnsVNLMK_iUsQS-loGICQ&amp;ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&amp;biw=1471&amp;bih=813&amp;dpr=0.9">Penn State slogan</a> “We are!” with a link to a story about the THON student body fundraiser, and Olbermann responded by “finish[ing] her sentence” and calling Penn State students “pitiful.” Olbermann <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/570285795698999296">apologized</a> for the remark and ensuing back-and-forth on Tuesday.</p>
<p>“I hope that he reflects on the comments that he has made to and about the entire Penn State community,” Aiello Deleon said.</p>
<p>The Twitter beef between the 1982 Penn State graduate and Olbermann actually goes back to January, when Aiello Deleon <a href="https://twitter.com/lisaadeleon/status/559004207190405121">sent him a link to a story</a> that defended former Penn State coach Joe Paterno against charges that he covered up child abuse by defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.</p>
<p>Olbermann, a fierce critic of the NCAA’s January settlement with the school to <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12179571/joe-paterno-111-wins-were-vacated-restored">restore the Paterno wins it had vacated after the Sandusky scandal</a>, responded that he was not convinced.</p>
<p>“His response, I found appalling,” Aiello Deleon said of the original exchange.</p>
<p>She says she later decided to send him the article about the fundraiser because she wanted to show him what “true Penn State culture” was about.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 22:47:20 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspension_the_espn_host_s_penn_state_twitter_feud_explained.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-24T22:47:20ZbriefingPenn State Alum at Center of Olbermann Suspension Hopes He Learns Something227150224013Keith OlbermannJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspension_the_espn_host_s_penn_state_twitter_feud_explained.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesWho's having the worse week?Putin Says War With Ukraine is “Unlikely.” World Says: Huh?http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/putin_says_war_with_ukraine_is_unlikely_world_says_huh.html
<p>In a new Russian TV interview, President Vladimir Putin <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31596634">was asked</a> about the prospect of war between Russia and Ukraine. &quot;I think that such an apocalyptic scenario is unlikely and I hope this will never happen,&quot; said the Russian leader. This will come as news to many Ukrainians who view Russia as <em>already</em> fighting a war with their country, In the Putinverse, war with Ukraine is “unlikely.” For everyone not watching Russian TV, it’s already happening.</p>
<p>Putin also said that if the <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/12/the_best_and_likely_worst_case_scenario_for_ukraine_s_new_peace_deal.html">Minsk Agreement</a> reached earlier this month were fully implemented, the situation in Eastern Ukraine would “gradually stabilize.” Too bad he’s the one not implementing it, sending troops over the border and supporting the separatist rebels who <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-withdrawal-besieged-town-90-percent-complete-083353993.html">continued to seize territory</a> after the Minsk agreement was reached. As for the week-old ceasefire, the Ukrainian government said last Friday that it had <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/24/europe/ukraine-russia-conflict/index.html">already been violated</a> at least 300 times.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This disconnect led Secretary of State John Kerry today to <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-russia-lied-activities-ukraine-160803514.html">accuse Russia of lying</a> about its involvement in the conflict and of engaging in “the most overt and extensive propaganda exercise that I've seen since the very height of the Cold War.&quot;</p>
<p>The U.S. is <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/threatens-russia-sanctions-ukraine-150221215945506.html">threatening more sanctions</a> against Russia over what&nbsp;it’s <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/23/state-dept-says-land-grab-in-debaltseve-must-be-accounted-for/">calling a “land grab”</a>—the seizure of the transportation hub of Debaltseve last week after the ceasefire had gone into effect. The U.S. is also dipping a pinky toe into providing Ukraine with military aid. Between 5 to 10 U.S. troops <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/90fb52d27f614eda862fbd1641ce3311/us-troops-heading-ukraine-give-medical-training">are heading to the country</a> to provide medical training to Ukrainian forces. Prime Minister David Cameron also announced today that Britain is sending military personnel to <a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/britain-to-help-train-ukrainian-army-to-counter-russian-threat/516465.html">provide training</a> ranging from “tactical intelligence to&nbsp;logistics, to&nbsp;medical care.&quot;</p>
<p>This is a long way from the kind of military aid that Ukraine has requested and that the Obama administration <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/03/the_u_s_might_provide_weapons_to_ukraine_it_won_t_do_any_good.html">claims to be considering</a>, but if the ceasefire continues to collapse, it could <a href="http://www.stripes.com/news/us-inching-toward-sending-arms-to-ukraine-1.331182">inch toward more robust support</a>. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
<p>Whatever happens, don’t expect Putin to call it a war.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 22:33:36 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/putin_says_war_with_ukraine_is_unlikely_world_says_huh.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-24T22:33:36ZbriefingPutin Says War With Ukraine is “Unlikely.” World Says: Huh?227150224012Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/putin_says_war_with_ukraine_is_unlikely_world_says_huh.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 23, 2015.Senate Democrats Smell Something Rotten in the GOP's DHS Funding Dealhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/senate_democrats_smell_something_rotten_in_the_gop_s_dhs_deal.html
<p>Senate Democrats think they smell something rotten in Senate Republicans' last-minute proposal to pass a clean funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, throwing a wrench Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html">desparate</a> plan to avert a political disaster. The GOP, you may recall, had hoped to pass a funding bill that would block President Barack Obama's <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2015/02/obama_s_dapa_immigration_program_is_legal_judge_hanen_s_injunction_will.html">perfectly legal</a>&nbsp;executive order deferring deportation for about 5 million immigrants. Most Senate Democrats balked, and Republicans geared up for a fight. With the clock ticking, however, Republican Senators claim to have changed their mind, and are now willing to vote on two separate bills: One to fund DHS, and one to block Obama's executive order. But the Democratic leadership doesn't appear eager to play nice just yet. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/24/senate-republicans-dhs_n_6746226.html">From the <em>Huffington Post</em></a>:</p>
<blockquote>
[T]he plan was quickly questioned by Democratic leaders, who said they don't want to move forward on even a clean DHS funding bill unless there are assurances from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that he's on board.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&quot;We have to make sure that we get a bill to the president, not that we send a hot potato to Boehner,&quot; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said at a press conference.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&quot;I don't know what's not to like about this,&quot; McConnell said at a separate press conference. &quot;This is an approach that respects both points of view and gives senators an opportunity to go on record on both funding the Department of Homeland Security and expressing their opposition to what the president did last November.&quot;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
He told reporters he did not know what the House would do. House Republicans will meet on Wednesday morning to discuss plans.
</blockquote>
<p>Actually, what's obviously &quot;not to like&quot; about this strategy is that the bill may be killed by fiercely conservative House Republicans—leaving Senate Democrats in dire straits and putting further pressure on them to support a bill that blocks Obama's executive order. It is possible, though, that McConnell's olive branch represents a good-faith effort: Given that a federal judge has halted the new policy <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2015/02/obama_s_dapa_immigration_program_is_legal_judge_hanen_s_injunction_will.html">on absurd legal grounds</a>, Republicans may be less zealous to stop it as soon as possible.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There is, by the way, one overarching piece of irony in this strange tale. As my colleague Josh Voorhees <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html">recently explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
If DHS funding does expire, it won’t specifically undercut Obama’s immigration reforms (which are&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/11/20/immigration_government_shutdown_republicans_just_found_out_they_can_t_defund.html">self-funded by application fees</a>) but it will harm a handful of programs that have traditionally been Republican favorites. The E-Verify program, which was created to help employers filter out undocumented immigrants from their pool of new hires, would be halted. The department also wouldn’t be able to upgrade&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.dhs.gov/news/2015/02/10/consequences-border-security-without-dhs-appropriations-bill">“obsolete remote video surveillance systems”</a>&nbsp;near the Texas-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley, where Republicans have long wanted to beef up security. And, while the Secret Service would still protect the president, the much-maligned agency wouldn’t get the $50 million it needs to help protect the emerging field of 2016 hopefuls and complete the agency overhaul that&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/09/julia_pierson_darrell_issa_the_house_oversight_committee_s_grilling_of_the.html">the GOP has been demanding</a>.
</blockquote>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 22:23:49 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/senate_democrats_smell_something_rotten_in_the_gop_s_dhs_deal.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-24T22:23:49ZbriefingSenate Democrats Smell Something Rotten in the GOP's DHS Funding Deal227150224011Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/senate_democrats_smell_something_rotten_in_the_gop_s_dhs_deal.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Joe Raedle/Getty Images&quot;It's in your hands, Mr.&nbsp;Senate Majority Leader&quot; doesn't have quite the same ring.Obama Vetoes Keystone Pipeline Billhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keystone_xl_pipeline_authorization_is_president_obama_s_third_veto_since.html
<p>On Tuesday, President Obama&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/02/24/keystone-xl-bill-a-k-a-veto-bait-heads-to-presidents-desk/">vetoed a bill authorizing the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline</a>. The move was widely expected and sets the stage for potential override votes in the House and Senate.</p>
<p>The pipeline might still get a green light from the president, according to White House press secretary Josh Earnest, but he stressed that Obama would not sign off on the project until the State Department’s assessment was complete. From the <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/02/24/keystone-xl-bill-a-k-a-veto-bait-heads-to-presidents-desk/">Washington Post</a></em>:</p>
<blockquote>
Earnest said the reason Obama [vetoed] the bill is because it goes around the State Department review and &quot;circumvents&nbsp;a longstanding administrative process for evaluating whether or not infrastructure projects like this are in&nbsp;the best interest of the country.&quot;
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
&quot;It certainly is possible the president will keep an open mind as the State Department&nbsp;considers the wide range of impacts this pipeline could have on the country, both positive and negative,” Earnest said.
</blockquote>
<p>Republican leaders in both chambers took to Twitter to <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJoniErnst/status/570334571545300994">decry</a> the president’s rejection of the “Keystone XL jobs bill.”</p>
<p>The estimate of how many jobs the pipeline is predicted to create&nbsp;<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2013/05/10/pipe-dreams-how-many-jobs-will-be-created-by-keystone-xl/">depends heavily on the source,</a> with some supporters claiming it will put hundreds of thousands of Americans to work in the energy sector and the State Department claiming that once construction is done, only 35 positions will be needed for maintenance and inspection.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:45:21 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keystone_xl_pipeline_authorization_is_president_obama_s_third_veto_since.htmlBeth Ethier2015-02-24T21:45:21ZbriefingObama Vetoes Keystone Pipeline Bill227150224010keystonebarack obamamitch mcconnellsenatehouse of representativesBeth EthierThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keystone_xl_pipeline_authorization_is_president_obama_s_third_veto_since.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesMission accomplished (for now).ISIS Continues Its Assault on Christianity With Latest Kidnappinghttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/isis_continues_its_assault_on_christianity_with_latest_kidnapping.html
<p>As many as 90 Assyrian Christians <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/watchdog-groups-islamic-state-abducts-christians-in-syria/2015/02/24/2a0ad814-bc32-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html?hpid=z1">have been abducted</a> by ISIS from villages in northeastern Syria, according to human rights groups. The disturbing news comes just days after the filmed beheading of <a href="http://time.com/3718470/isis-copts-egypt/">21 Egyptian Coptic Christians</a> in Libya by militants linked to the group.</p>
<p>While no civilians have fared particularly well under ISIS’s rule, it’s been particularly catastrophic for religious minorities, including Shiites, Yazidis, and members of some of the world’s oldest Christian communities. Until recently, Christians, belonging to Orthodox, Catholic, or Assyrian denominations, made up about 10 percent of Syria’s population. That dropped to about 8 percent in 2013, <a href="http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper">according to the U.S. State Department</a>, due to Christians fleeing the country’s violence. Thousands more have fled since then, with much of the country now under the control of militantly anti-Christian groups like ISIS and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.</p>
<p>The situation is similarly bleak in Iraq, where ISIS conquered the country’s largest Christian city, Qaraqosh, last August, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/07/world/meast/iraq-isis-christian-city/">causing thousands to flee</a>. In June, for the first time in 1,600 years, there was <a href="http://www.christiantoday.com/article/no.mass.said.in.mosul.for.first.time.in.1600.years.says.archbishop/38493.htm">no Christian mass held</a> in Mosul. As of last December, 120,000 Iraqi Christians were <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/12/iraq-christian-refugees-linger-jordan-20141247496420774.html">living in exile</a> in Kurdistan.</p>
<p>In many ISIS-held areas, including its “capital,” the Syrian city of Raqqa, reports suggest that Christians are <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26366197">given the choice</a> between converting to Islam, death, or paying a tax for their safety. Christians are also barred from praying in public or displaying religious symbols. In other words, the public practice of the religion is banned. ISIS has also carried out a campaign of destroying Christian property, including <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/20/ISIS-burns-1-800-year-old-church-in-Mosul.html">millennia-old churches</a>, and in Mosul has <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28381455">tagged Christian houses</a> with the letter <em>N</em> for <em>nassarah</em>, a term for Christians used in the Koran.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Christianity was in a precarious position in the Middle East long before ISIS emerged on the scene, falling from <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/19/middle-easts-christian-population-in-flux-as-pope-francis-visits-holy-land/">10 percent of the region’s population</a> to 5 percent over the last century. Iraq’s <a href="http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=65623">once million-strong Christian community</a> has faced two decades of violent persecution, first following the 1991 Gulf and then to an even greater extent after the U.S. invasion of 2003. ISIS now seems intent on finishing the job.</p>
<p>It’s not clear what ISIS has planned for its new captives. With its <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/world/middleeast/isis-tactics-questioned-as-hostages-dwindle.html">store of living foreign hostages dwindling</a> as fewer journalists and aid workers risk travel to the area, it’s possible the group may try to use the Assyrian Christians as bargaining chips. Or maybe this isn’t about negotiating at all, and is just another act in the group’s ongoing “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/opinion/the-isis-theater-of-cruelty.html">theater of cruelty</a>.”</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:37:42 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/isis_continues_its_assault_on_christianity_with_latest_kidnapping.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-24T20:37:42ZbriefingISIS Continues Its Assault on Christianity With Latest Kidnapping227150224009Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/isis_continues_its_assault_on_christianity_with_latest_kidnapping.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty ImagesYoung Assyrian Christians from Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon light candles before a Christmas mass at St. Georges church in an eastern Beirut suburb on Dec. 25, 2014.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Aaron Schock Lifestyle: Private Planes and Parties, On Donors' and Taxpayers' Dimehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/aaron_schock_flew_on_donors_private_planes_and_billed_taxpayers_for_parties.html
<p>Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock has a taste for the finer things—like a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/hes-got-a-downton-abbey-inspired-office-but-rep-aaron-schock-wont-talk-about-it/2015/02/02/1d3f1466-ab1f-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html"><em>Downton Abbey</em>-themed office</a>&nbsp;and near-constant travel on private jets. But who, exactly, is bankrolling&nbsp;Schock's lavish lifestyle? <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/lawmaker-lavish-decor-billed-private-planes-concerts-083108684--politics.html">The AP did some digging</a>&nbsp;and came up with an utterly unsurprising answer—donors and taxpayers:</p>
<blockquote>
Schock's House account paid more than $24,000 directly to a Peoria aviation firm for eight flights provided by one of Schock's donor's planes in 2011 and 2012. ... The donor planes include an Italian-made Piaggio twin-engine turboprop owned by Todd Green of Springfield, Illinois, who runs car dealerships in Schock's district with his brother, Jeff. Todd Green told a Springfield newspaper that Jeff — a pilot and campaign contributor — and Schock have been friends for a long time. ... Beyond air travel, Schock spent thousands more on tickets for concerts, car mileage reimbursements — among the highest in Congress — and took his interns to a sold-out Katy Perry concert in Washington last June.
</blockquote>
<p>The report is filled with this kind of stuff: Apparently, a number of Schock's donors are eager to fly him around on their private planes, while Schock himself is happy to charge his taxpayer-funded House account for more humdrum commercial travel. A conservative political action committee called the GOP Generation Y Fund also footed the bill for some of Schock's activities, including festivals, concerts, and a fundraising event at a massage parlor.</p>
<p>Schock is already facing an ethics inquiry following a report that he illegally solicited campaign contributions for another candidate. That investigation is ongoing. Schock's office has declared that it is currently reviewing his expenses and reimbursements.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:32:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/aaron_schock_flew_on_donors_private_planes_and_billed_taxpayers_for_parties.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-24T20:32:00ZbriefingThe&nbsp;Aaron Schock Lifestyle: Private Planes and Parties, On Donors' and Taxpayers' Dime227150224008Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/aaron_schock_flew_on_donors_private_planes_and_billed_taxpayers_for_parties.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThere's no accounting for taste.Report: Chicago Has an Extrajudicial Police Interrogation Compound Where a Man Diedhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/homan_square_police_blacksite_the_guardian_reports_on_allegedly_extrajudicial.html
<p>An off-books Chicago police warehouse where a man mysteriously died two years ago is being used as an <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site?CMP=share_btn_tw">extraconstitutional interrogation site</a>, according to a report published in the<em> Guardian</em> on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The newspaper spoke with one alleged former detainee at the site and several local attorneys who reported that the Homan Square compound was being used to deny detainees Fifth Amendment rights to due process and Sixth Amendment rights to an attorney.</p>
<p>In February 2013, a 44-year-old man named John Hubbard was reportedly found <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-04/news/chi-man-in-custody-found-unresponsive-dies-20130202_1_bronzeville-neighborhood-police-custody-homan-square-neighborhood">unresponsive</a> inside an interview room at Homan Square and was soon after pronounced dead. The<em> Guardian</em> was unable to determine why Hubbard had been in custody, and the Cook County medical examiner did not provide it with any record of Hubbard’s cause of death.</p>
<p>The newspaper notes that it’s not uncommon for police to use facilities outside official police headquarters for discussions with informants, but that a special site where interrogations are conducted with people being held without due process is not the norm.</p>
<p>“This Homan Square revelation seems to me to be an institutionalization of the practice that dates back more than 40 years of violating a suspect or witness’ rights to a lawyer and not to be physically or otherwise coerced into giving a statement,” Chicago civil rights attorney Flint Taylor told the&nbsp;<em>Guardian</em>.</p>
<p>While it lists multiple examples of alleged unlawful detentions of anonymous detainees, the story centers on the case of Brian Jacob Church, a protester who was eventually acquitted on terrorism charges and convicted of possessing an incendiary device and participating in a mob action.</p>
<p>Church told the<em> Guardian</em> that he was brought to Homan Square on May 16, 2012, after a raid on his NATO protest group and handcuffed to a bench and interrogated for 17 hours without being read his rights or given access to an attorney.</p>
<p>“Essentially, I wasn’t allowed to make any contact with anybody,” Church told the<em> Guardian</em>.</p>
<p>Church’s lawyer, Sarah Gelsomino, said that it took 12 hours of active searching and calls to political connections in the mayor’s office before she was able to learn of the detention center and reach her client, who was then booked and processed.</p>
<p>The<em> Guardian</em> reports that detainees at Homan Square are not only detained without charge, they are not entered into any public record that shows that they were in police custody at Homan Square. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-police-detain-americans-black-site?CMP=share_btn_tw">More from the paper</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
Three attorneys interviewed by the
<em>Guardian</em> report being personally turned away from Homan Square between 2009 and 2013 without being allowed access to their clients. Two more lawyers who hadn’t been physically denied described it as a place where police withheld information about their clients’ whereabouts. Church was the only person who had been detained at the facility who agreed to talk with the
<em>Guardian</em>: their lawyers say others fear police retaliation.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
One man in January 2013 had his name changed in the Chicago central bookings database and then taken to Homan Square without a record of his transfer being kept, according to Eliza Solowiej of Chicago’s First Defense Legal Aid. (The man, the
<em>Guardian</em> understands, wishes to be anonymous; his current attorney declined to confirm Solowiej’s account.) She found out where he was after he was taken to the hospital with a head injury.
</blockquote>
<p>“It’s sort of an open secret among attorneys that regularly make police station visits, this place—if you can’t find a client in the system, odds are they’re there,” Chicago lawyer Julia Bartmes told the<em> Guardian</em>.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:20:13 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/homan_square_police_blacksite_the_guardian_reports_on_allegedly_extrajudicial.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-24T20:20:13ZbriefingReport: Chicago Has an Extrajudicial Police Interrogation Compound Where a Man Died227150224007ChicagopoliceJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/homan_square_police_blacksite_the_guardian_reports_on_allegedly_extrajudicial.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Scott Olson/Getty ImagesServe and protect.Mitch McConnell Is Getting Desperate to End the DHS Stalemate He Helped Starthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.html
<p>With less than four days to go until funding for the Department of Homeland Security expires, Republican leaders are scrambling to find a way out of a political problem of their own making.</p>
<p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/if-homeland-security-funding-lapses-many-guards-would-work-without-pay-1424727335">unveiled his plan B on Monday night</a> after trying and failing for the fourth time to advance the House bill that would fund the department in exchange for blocking the high-profile immigration reforms President Obama announced last fall. With the original plan unable to overcome a Democratic filibuster, the majority leader is now pivoting to standalone legislation that would narrowly target the president’s reforms as a way to keep the immigration fight center stage without jeopardizing funding for a federal agency that’s tasked with keeping Americans safe. “I’m ready to try another way,” the Kentucky Republican said Tuesday on the Senate floor.</p>
<p>It’s unclear if enough of his colleagues feel the same way.</p>
<p>McConnell hasn’t yet said specifically how he would address Homeland Security funding, but it appears as though the plan is to hold separate votes on two standalone bills, one blocking the president’s reforms, the other to fund DHS. That plan has so far received <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/congress-dems-filibuster-dhs-bill-115433.html?hp=t4_r">a mixed reaction in the upper chamber</a> and, even if it were to succeed there, it would still need to clear the House, where rank-and-file Republicans have shown no interest in abandoning their quest to use DHS funding to force Obama’s hand. But the fact that McConnell is now scrambling to find an alternative to a plan that has been DOA since it was hatched last year suggests that Republican leaders are finally coming to terms with the reality of what a quasi-shutdown would mean—both in the political world and the real one.</p>
<p>For starters there is the obvious and immediate political risk for the GOP: Polling shows that <a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2015/images/02/18/rel2b.dhs-immigration-congress.pdf">Americans will overwhelmingly blame Republicans</a> for a partial shutdown of DHS. And, if that weren’t enough to give McConnell heartburn, the agency’s most high-profile task—fighting terrorism—narrowly overtook the economy earlier this year as the most important issue for Americans in 2015, according to <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2015/01/15/publics-policy-priorities-reflect-changing-conditions-at-home-and-abroad/">a Pew Research Center survey</a> from last month. As Rep. Tom Cole, a respected strategist within the GOP, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/us/homeland-security-funding-fight-over-immigration-poses-risks-for-republicans.html">told the <em>New York Times</em></a>: “I don’t think shutdowns and showdowns are the way to win the presidency in 2016.” Or as John McCain put it <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-split-on-dhs-funding-edging-closer-to-partial-shutdown/2015/02/23/4b2de138-bb76-11e4-b274-e5209a3bc9a9_story.html">even more bluntly to the <em>Washington Post</em></a>: “We need to fund the Department of Homeland Security. We cannot shut down the Department of Homeland Security.” The Arizona Republican repeated himself one more time for good measure. “I said we cannot shut down the Department of Homeland Security.”</p>
<p>In reality, as my colleague Betsy Woodruff and others have already documented, if DHS funding expires at midnight Friday, the agency will shut down largely in name only. “The homeland is going to be OK,” <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/02/department_of_homeland_security_shutdown_why_it_won_t_be_a_threat_to_national.html">Woodruff explained last week</a>. “Specifically, a missed funding deadline means a small fraction of the department’s employees would be furloughed.” By law, employees who are deemed essential are required to keep working during a shutdown, albeit in many cases without a paycheck. And the DHS is full of essential employees.</p>
<p>Still, that doesn’t really help Republicans get out of their current mess. They can’t argue that defunding the agency won’t have a noticeable impact and then turn around and try to use the department’s budget as leverage to get what they want. And that’s where the irony comes in. If DHS funding does expire, it won’t specifically undercut Obama’s immigration reforms (which are <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/11/20/immigration_government_shutdown_republicans_just_found_out_they_can_t_defund.html">self-funded by application fees</a>) but it will harm a handful of programs that have traditionally been Republican favorites. The E-Verify program, which was created to help employers filter out undocumented immigrants from their pool of new hires, would be halted. The department also wouldn’t be able to upgrade&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dhs.gov/news/2015/02/10/consequences-border-security-without-dhs-appropriations-bill">“obsolete remote video surveillance systems”</a>&nbsp;near the Texas-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley, where Republicans have long wanted to beef up security. And, while the Secret Service would still protect the president, the much-maligned agency wouldn’t get the $50 million it needs to help protect the emerging field of 2016 hopefuls and complete the agency overhaul that <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/09/julia_pierson_darrell_issa_the_house_oversight_committee_s_grilling_of_the.html">the GOP has been demanding</a>.</p>
<p>In the end, then, Republicans will need to decide between now and the end of the week how much they’re willing to sacrifice in the larger immigration fight. So far, it appears like the answer is: more than they originally meant to.<br /> </p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 19:46:02 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.htmlJosh Voorhees2015-02-24T19:46:02ZbriefingWhat Programs Will Be Cut if the DHS Actually Shuts Down? Mostly Ones the GOP Loves.227150224006politicsImmigrationJosh VoorheesThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/dhs_immigration_stalemate_mitch_mcconnell_is_getting_desperate_to_end_the.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesMitch McConnell is running out of time.ESPN Suspends Keith Olbermann For Weird Tweets About Pediatric Cancer and Penn Statehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_by_espn_for_stupid_tweets.html
<p>Keith&nbsp;Olbermann fans, wherever you are, whoever you are, despair: ESPN announced on Tuesday that it will suspend the anchor for the rest of the week following a bout of weirdly confrontational, painfully tone-deaf Twitter bullying. <em><a href="http://deadspin.com/espn-suspends-keith-olbermann-for-penn-state-tweets-1687751753">Deadspin</a> </em>has the ESPN announcement in full:</p>
<blockquote>
We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN. We have discussed it with Keith, who recognizes he was wrong. ESPN and Keith have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of this week and will return on Monday. The annual tradition of THON and the efforts of the students of Penn State to fight pediatric cancer should be applauded.
</blockquote>
<p>If you find the details of the Twitter brawl bewildering, you may be even more confused by a clarification. It seems Olbermann inteded to describe Penn State students as &quot;pitiful,&quot; but wound up inadvertently maligning THON, an annual student body fundraiser for pediatric cancer research. At that point, he simply dug in his heels, leading to a series of increasingly angry and misguided tweets.</p>
<p>Olbermann has since apologized and will be back on air next Monday.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 19:40:53 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_by_espn_for_stupid_tweets.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-24T19:40:53ZbriefingESPN Suspends Keith Olbermann For Weird Tweets About Pediatric Cancer and Penn State227150224005Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/keith_olbermann_suspended_by_espn_for_stupid_tweets.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Frederick M. Brown/Getty ImagesDo not trust this man with Twitter.Obamacare Is Working Incredibly Well—Except Where Republicans Won’t Let Ithttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/obamacare_works_except_when_republicans_block_it.html
<p>As Congress debated the merits of the Affordable Care Act in the months preceding its passage, red state Republicans vigorously insisted that the health insurance law wouldn't work. Five years later, the data is clear: They were sort of right! But only, it turns out, in the states where Republicans won't <em>let </em>it work.</p>
<p>That's the takeaway from Gallup's <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/181664/arkansas-kentucky-improvement-uninsured-rates.aspx?utm_source=Well-Being&amp;utm_medium=newsfeed&amp;utm_campaign=tiles">big new ObamaCare poll</a>, which shows that the law has helped to bring uninsured rates to a historic low—13.8 percent nationally, down 3.5 percentage points from last year. There is, however, a catch. States that complied with ObamaCare's central provisions by setting up a state-run health insurance exchange and expanding Medicaid are doing incredibly well, insuring more residents at record rates. States that refuse to set up their own exchange or expand Medicaid are still reducing uninsured rates—only much more slowly. And, not at all coincidentally, those states that still struggle with a large population of uninsured residents are governed by heavily Republican legislatures that have resisted ObamaCare at every stage.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Even this good news, though, arrives with a dark cloud close behind it. In March, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in <em>King v. Burwell</em>, an astonishingly <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/02/vaccines_and_health_insurance_republicans_anti_obamacare_campaign_will_kill.html">callous and malicious</a> lawsuit built on <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/10/plaintiffs_in_king_v_burwell_obamacare_suit_might_not_have_standing.html">lies, fraud, and deceit</a>&nbsp;which seeks to abolish federally facilitated health insurances exchanges in states that haven't set up their own. <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/02/vaccines_and_health_insurance_republicans_anti_obamacare_campaign_will_kill.html">If <em>King </em>succeeds</a>, roughly 8.2 million Americans will lose their insurance, mostly in those red states that refuse to comply with the law, and 9,800 additional people will die&nbsp;<em>each year</em>. ObamaCare, then, may be mostly succeeding for the time being—but it's only five votes away from strangulation at the hands of a politically motivated court.&nbsp;</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:53:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/obamacare_works_except_when_republicans_block_it.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-24T18:53:00ZbriefingObamacare Is Working Incredibly Well—Except Where Republicans Won’t Let It227150224004Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/obamacare_works_except_when_republicans_block_it.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesThe new Gallup poll gives them a lot more to love.The Justice Department Will Not Charge George Zimmerman in the Death of Trayvon Martinhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/george_zimmerman_won_t_be_charged_by_the_doj_for_killing_trayvon_martin.html
<p>On Tuesday, the Department of Justice notified Trayvon Martin’s family that it will not charge George Zimmerman under federal civil rights law, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-doj-set-announce-charges-george-zimmerman/story?id=29186648">according to ABC News</a>. Zimmerman has already been acquitted of state-level murder and manslaughter charges by a Florida jury. Tuesday’s announcement made official what many have suspected for nearly two years: Zimmerman will not be imprisoned for shooting and killing Martin.</p>
<p>As I explained after a grand jury&nbsp;<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/11/ferguson_grand_jury_announcement_prosecutor_robert_mcculloch_influenced.html">failed to indict Darren Wilson</a>&nbsp;in the shooting of Michael Brown, it is <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/11/will_justice_department_charge_darren_wilson_supreme_court_gutted_civil.html">nearly impossible to win a federal civil rights case</a> against a person who harms or kills a citizen—especially when he does so in the name of law enforcement. That’s because, in 1945, the Supreme Court essentially rewrote a Reconstruction-era statute designed to protect black people, inadvertently stacking the deck against victims. Under the current law, the government would be required to prove that Zimmerman <em>intended </em>to deprive Martin of his constitutional right to life and liberty when he pulled the trigger.</p>
<p>At most, the government could probably prove that Zimmerman acted rashly or irresponsibly. But with such little evidence to go on, prosecutors would likely be unable to prove that Zimmerman fired his gun with the explicit intent to deprive Martin of life without due process of law. Without this showing of “willfulness,” as the Supreme Court phrased it, Zimmerman cannot be convicted under federal law. (The Justice Department will also <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/us/justice-department-ferguson-civil-rights-darren-wilson.html">decline to press federal charges</a> against Wilson in the Ferguson shooting due to similar concerns, though officials have not yet formally announced their decision.)</p>
<p>The Martin family may, of course, still pursue civil charges, like suing Zimmerman for wrongfully killing their son. In the meantime, Zimmerman continues to struggle with the law: In January he was arrested on suspision of assaulting his girlfriend, though that case has&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/30/us/george-zimmerman-no-charges/">since been dropped</a>.*</p>
<p><strong>*<em>Correction, Feb. 24, 2015:</em></strong><em> This post originally misstated that George Zimmerman is being prosecuted for the aggravated assault of his girlfriend. That case has been dropped.​</em></p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:22:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/george_zimmerman_won_t_be_charged_by_the_doj_for_killing_trayvon_martin.htmlMark Joseph Stern2015-02-24T18:22:00ZbriefingThe Justice Department Will Not Charge George Zimmerman in the Death of Trayvon Martin227150224003Mark Joseph SternThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/george_zimmerman_won_t_be_charged_by_the_doj_for_killing_trayvon_martin.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Allison Joyce/Getty ImagesTrayvon Martin’s killer will not be charged with depriving Martin of his constitutional rights.&nbsp;It’s a Great Day for Pot Smokershttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/alaska_legalizes_marijuana_and_other_reasons_why_feb_24_2015_is_a_good_day.html
<p>Tuesday was a good day for people who like to smoke pot. First off, Alaska became the third state where recreational marijuana use is legal, joining Colorado and Washington.</p>
<p>The <em>Alaska Dispatch News</em> described what the <a href="http://www.adn.com/article/20150220/legalization-day-13-most-pressing-questions">newly implemented law means</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
For anyone aged 21 and older: It’s legal to possess, transport and display up to 1 ounce of marijuana and accompanying accessories, such as a pipe. It's also legal to possess, grow, process and transport up to six marijuana plants, three of which may be flowering.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Adults can give each other up to an ounce of weed, or up to six immature plants.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
So how much pot can you have in your home?&nbsp;Past court cases have identified personal possession as 4 ounces or less. The initiative, however, states that a person can have any amount in their home that is harvested from their six personal plants.
</blockquote>
<p>It’s still illegal in Alaska to drive under the influence of marijuana, smoke in public, and sell the drug, but the state has nine months to craft regulations before handing out business licenses to legally authorized marijuana-selling establishments.</p>
<p>As <em>Time</em> notes, Alaska <a href="http://time.com/3719828/marijuana-legal-alaska/">officials have already visited Colorado</a> to see how their experiment in legalization has gone—the answer is <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/01/one_year_in_colorado_s_great_pot_experiment_has_been_a_sweeping_success.html">sweepingly well</a>—and they also intend to visit Washington for ideas on how to run the business regulation side of lawful pot.</p>
<p>Current Alaska Gov. Bill Walker introduced a bill on Monday to create a Marijuana Control Board to <a href="http://www.adn.com/article/20150223/alaska-governor-introduces-bill-establish-marijuana-control-board">regulate the industry</a>, while the hometown of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin responded more negatively to the news. On Monday, Wasilla’s city council—where Palin used to be mayor—<a href="http://www.adn.com/article/20150223/wasilla-enacts-strict-new-marijuana-rules-legalization-dawns">passed stringent new marijuana laws</a> that banned the making of pot brownies and other edibles.</p>
<p>But outside Wasilla, there was still more good news for pot smokers, as the <em>Washington Post</em> reported on Monday about a new study that said <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/23/marijuana-may-be-even-safer-than-previously-thought-researchers-say/">marijuana might be even <em>safer</em> than previously thought</a>.</p>
<p>The study, published in <em>Nature</em>’s subsidiary journal <em>Scientific Reports</em>, sought to quantify how deadly various drugs were and determined that alcohol is 114 times more deadly than marijuana. “Marijuana is also the only drug studied that posed a low mortality risk to its users,” the <em>Post</em> reports.</p>
<p>Alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and tobacco were listed in that order as “high risk” of death drugs.</p>
<p>The third reason Tuesday is a good—nay, great!—day for marijuana smokers is that Krispy Kreme is <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/02/24/free_krispy_kreme_go_get_your_doughnut.html">giving away free doughnuts</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, as our friends at <em>Vulture</em> note, Warren G and Kenny G just fulfilled the “<a href="http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/warren-g-and-kenny-g-finally-perform-together.html?mid=facebook_nymag">dream of ‘90s stoners</a>” everywhere&nbsp;by performing “Regulate” together.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 16:09:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/alaska_legalizes_marijuana_and_other_reasons_why_feb_24_2015_is_a_good_day.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-24T16:09:00ZbriefingIt’s a Great Day for Pot Smokers227150224002marijuana legalizationJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/alaska_legalizes_marijuana_and_other_reasons_why_feb_24_2015_is_a_good_day.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Theo Stroomer/Getty ImagesHappy day.South African Leaks Offer Rare Glimpse Into World of Espionagehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/south_african_leaks_offer_rare_glimpse_into_world_of_espionage.html
<p>In another major intelligence leak, Al Jazeera and the <em>Guardian </em><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/spy-cables-world-espionage-snowden-guardian-mi6-cia-ssa-mossad-iran-southafrica-leak-150218100147229.html">have received a digital cache of hundreds of secret</a> documents from South Africa’s intelligence agency, the State Security Agency, revealing both internal communications and correspondence with other spy agencies including the CIA, Israel’s Mossad, Britain’s MI6 and Russia’s FSB.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/series/spy-cables">Both</a> <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/events/spycables.html">outlets</a> have already published several stories based on the leaks and more are coming soon.</p>
<p>So far, the biggest blockbuster seems to be a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/leaks-netanyahu-misled-iran-nuclear-programme-guardian-iran-nuclear-speech-2012-150218165622065.html">2012 Mossad cable</a> that discusses the progress of Iran’s nuclear program in starkly different terms than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did in his <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/27/us-un-assembly-israel-iran-idUSBRE88Q0GI20120927">now famous cartoon bomb speech</a> at the United Nations just a few weeks earlier. Both outlets headline the cable as “contradicting” Netanyahu’s speech, though the prime minister’s remarks on when Iran would be ready to “move on to the final stage” of producing highly-enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb were vague enough to leave him some wiggle room.</p>
<p>The tone and sense of urgency are undoubtedly different though: While Netanyahu made the case that Iran could be only months away from being able to produce a bomb, Mossad said that while Iran was continuing to research and develop nuclear weapons, and was producing 20 percent enriched uranium—which is more than what’s needed for a civilian program—it “at this stage is not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons.” If he wasn’t factually contradicting what his intelligence services were saying, Netanyahu at least seems to have been <a href="https://twitter.com/kampeas/status/569968924634288128">spinning it pretty hard</a>.</p>
<p>Another cable suggests that in 2012, a CIA officer <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/23/spy-cables-leak-cia-contact-hamas-us-ban">talked to a South African</a> counterpart about setting up a meeting with Hamas, which the U.S. had designated as a terrorist organization, meaning the U.S. government is formally banned from contacting it. It’s not clear if the meeting ever actually took place.</p>
<p>One cable <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/spy-cables-british-attempt-recruit-korean-mi6-recruit-south-africa-north-korea-guard-150219190022268.html">describes an effort</a> by MI6 to enlist South Africa’s help in recruiting a North Korean informant. Another details Iran’s efforts <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/spy-cables-south-africa-spies-iran-operations-guardian-ssa-tehran-undercover-carpet--150219184023503.html">to use front companies in South Africa</a> to evade sanctions. That cable also alleges that Iran’s “Ministries of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Committees make use of the diplomatic bag to send arms to the Iranian Embassies abroad.” <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/23/leaked-spy-cables-netanyahu-iran-bomb-mossad">Others discuss</a> South Korean intelligence targeting Greenpeace and South Africa spying on Russia over a controversial satellite deal.</p>
<p>Based on what’s been published so far, these cables, which span from 2006 to 2014 and&nbsp; &nbsp;describe the workaday world of human intelligence, seem unlikely to have the impact of Edward Snowden’s leaks, which revealed the U.S. government’s largely unknown data collection capabilities. Still, it’s a fascinating look into how espionage work is conducted on a daily basis. It’s also likely to be highly embarrassing for South Africa—a rare country that has at least cordial relations with the U.S., Iran, Israel, Hamas, and Russia— and could make intelligence agencies around the world even more concerned about what they share with their friends.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 12:52:03 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/south_african_leaks_offer_rare_glimpse_into_world_of_espionage.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-24T12:52:03ZbriefingNew Intelligence Leak Shows Netanyahu Contradicting the Mossad on Iran’s Nuclear Capabilities&nbsp;227150224001Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/24/south_african_leaks_offer_rare_glimpse_into_world_of_espionage.htmlfalsefalsefalseThere’s a Marathon Coming Up in North Korea But You Can’t Run Because You Might Have Ebolahttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/north_korea_bans_foreigners_in_pyongyang_marathon_over_ebola.html
<p>North Korea, well known for being ahead of the global enlightenment curve in (oh) so many ways, announced over the weekend it’s barring foreigners from participating in this year’s Pyongyang marathon due to fears over the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/23/us-northkorea-marathon-idUSKBN0LR06H20150223">spread of Ebola</a>. The <a href="https://twitter.com/KoryoTours/status/569793885863604225">announcement</a>, disappointing to dozens, came via a regional tour company specializing in North Korean excursions.</p>
<p>The BBC inadvertently summed up the impact of the decision. “The marathon, one of the year's most popular events for tourists, takes place on 12 April,” <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31581935">the BBC notes</a>. “Last year's race, which also included a 10km (6 mile) race and a half-marathon, was the first time the event was open to foreigners and an estimated 200 people from around the world took part.”</p>
<p>“While no cases of Ebola have been reported anywhere near North Korea, the country shut out foreign tourists in October with some of the strictest Ebola regulations in the world,” <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/n-korea-bars-tourists-popular-race-over-ebola-024039291.html">the Associated Press reports</a>.</p>
<p>If you’re curious to know what it on earth it’s like to run a marathon in North Korea check out <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/roads/2014/04/pyongyang_s_2014_marathon_north_korea_opens_its_race_to_foreigners.html">Will Philipps’ account in <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> of participating in the 2014 event</a>.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 03:17:13 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/north_korea_bans_foreigners_in_pyongyang_marathon_over_ebola.htmlElliot Hannon2015-02-24T03:17:13ZbriefingThere’s a Marathon Coming Up in North Korea But You Can’t Run Because You Might Have Ebola227150223009north koreaElliot HannonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/north_korea_bans_foreigners_in_pyongyang_marathon_over_ebola.htmlfalsefalsefalseU.S. Appoints First-Ever Envoy to Defend Global LGBT Rightshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/kerry_appoints_randy_berry_first_lgbt_state_department_envoy.html
<p>On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced the appointment of <a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/02/237772.htm">the first-ever special envoy for LGBT rights</a> at the State Department. Randy Berry, an <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/us-names-first-ever-lgb_n_6738760.html">openly gay career diplomat</a> currently serving as the consul general in the Netherlands, was tapped for the job.</p>
<p>“Defending and promoting the human rights of LGBT persons is at the core of our commitment to advancing human rights globally – the heart and conscience of our diplomacy,” Kerry said in a statement. In his new role—officially the Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons—Berry “is charged with advancing government initiatives to reduce violence and discrimination against LGBT people around the world, including in the more than 75 countries where consensual same-sex relationships are criminalized,” <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/us-names-first-ever-lgb_n_6738760.html">Reuters reports</a>. “[Berry] also will be able to utilize the State Department’s Global Equality Fund, created in 2011 to provide critical emergency, short-term, and long-term assistance to protect and advance the human rights of LGBT communities in over 50 countries.”</p>
<p>“At a moment when many LGBT people around the world are facing persecution and daily violence, this unprecedented appointment shows a historic commitment to the principle that LGBT rights are human rights,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin <a href="http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-applauds-appointment-of-randy-berry-as-state-departments-first-ever-lgb">in a statement</a>.</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 01:34:52 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/kerry_appoints_randy_berry_first_lgbt_state_department_envoy.htmlElliot Hannon2015-02-24T01:34:52ZbriefingU.S. Appoints First-Ever Envoy to Defend Global LGBT Rights227150223008lgbtElliot HannonThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/kerry_appoints_randy_berry_first_lgbt_state_department_envoy.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty ImagesU.S. appoints Special Envoy for LGBT rights.Giuliani Wishes Benjamin Netanyahu Were America’s President Instead of Obamahttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/giuliani_questioned_obama_s_love_of_country_days_before_the_walker_fundraiser.html
<p>Rudy Giuliani attempted to explain remarks that were critical of President Barack Obama in a <em>Wall Street Journal</em> editorial over the weekend, even as <em>Haaretz</em> revealed on Monday that questioning Obama’s love of country might actually be a regular Giuliani talking point.</p>
<p>In a speech to the Iranian-American Community of Phoenix Arizona just three days before his comments at a private Scott Walker event&nbsp;<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/02/rudy_giuliani_says_barack_obama_doesn_t_love_america_that_s_absurd_but_the.html">that Obama doesn’t love America</a>, Giuliani compared the president unfavorably to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and gave remarks that foreshadowed the quote that would land him in hot water.</p>
<p>Of Netanyahu, Giuliani said: “That is a patriot; that is a man who loves his people; that is a man who protects his people; that’s a man who fights for his people—unlike our president.”</p>
<p>In his <em>WSJ</em> op-ed on Sunday, Giuliani said that,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/rudolph-giuliani-my-bluntness-overshadowed-my-message-1424646358">aside from his “blunt” words at the Walker event that Obama didn’t love his country</a>, he never meant to question what Obama had in his heart.</p>
<p>“Obviously, I cannot read President Obama’s mind or heart, and to the extent that my words suggested otherwise, it was not my intention,” Giuliani wrote.</p>
<p>Giuliani’s remarks about Obama and Netanyahu were made in reference to the criticism of the Israeli leader for accepting an invitation to speak about Iran’s nuclear program in front of Congress without informing the president first.</p>
<p>“And we are upset that Netanyahu wants to come here and defend his country?” Giuliani said. “If someone threatened to destroy New York City, I would go anywhere, any place, anytime,&nbsp;and I wouldn’t give a damn what the president of the United States thought, to defend my country.”</p>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 23:58:31 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/giuliani_questioned_obama_s_love_of_country_days_before_the_walker_fundraiser.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-23T23:58:31ZbriefingGiuliani Wishes Benjamin Netanyahu Were America’s President Instead of Obama227150223007rudy giulianigiulianiJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/giuliani_questioned_obama_s_love_of_country_days_before_the_walker_fundraiser.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Bryan Thomas/Getty ImagesRudy Giuliani wouldn't question Obama's heart, unless he was questioning Obama's heart.Stephen Smith Thinks Kurt Busch’s Case Is Being Ignored Because He’s Whitehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/espn_s_steven_a_smith_thinks_nascar_driver_kurt_busch_s_domestic_violence.html
<p>Kurt Busch became the first driver to be <a href="http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/12355143/nascar-driver-kurt-busch-suspended-indefinitely">suspended from NASCAR for domestic assault last week</a>, but the response to his suspension has been quiet compared to last year’s uproar over the NFL’s treatment of Ray Rice’s domestic violence case.</p>
<p>ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith said that he believes the relative lack of interest in Busch’s case is partially due to his race. “I want to highlight something … that black folks, myself included, have lamented for many, many years,” Smith said on ESPN's <em>First Take</em> before listing a handful of cases of prominent black NFL players receiving what he implied was more attention than Busch for domestic violence allegations. “Where’s the public outcry? Where’s the story circulating for days upon days upon days at a time?”</p>
<p>Smith acknowledged that the NFL is more popular than NASCAR racing, but still felt a racial bias was at play.</p>
<p>“It’s the level of fervor that comes into play when one of these black athletes are put out there front and center for alleged transgressions,” he said. “I think it should be the same across the board and there should be a healthy uproar no matter what, and I just didn’t get the sense that this existed here with Kurt Busch.”</p>
<p>While it’s true that the response to Busch has been more muted than the response to Rice, there are several reasonable explanations other than race. First, as Smith’s fellow commentator Skip Bayless noted in the video, the reaction to Ray Rice's case only really reached a boiling point when video was released of the attack.&nbsp;While the Rice tape <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/01/the_mueller_report_the_nfl_s_ray_rice_investigation_reveals_major_screw.html">shouldn’t have been necessary to create the backlash that it did</a>, that’s how it played out, and one could probably point to a bias in favor of athletes to explain this fact.</p>
<p>Still, it’s true that, as Smith notes, black athletes are often <a href="http://gawker.com/how-richard-sherman-became-americas-newest-thug-1505228178">unfairly tarnished as “thugs”</a> for behavior that is not even comparable to what Busch is alleged to have done.</p>
<p>“It seems to be highlighted when black folks get themselves in trouble, but when other people get themselves in trouble, we don’t hear the same kind of noise,” he said. “Then black folks who have never committed any kind of domestic violence whatsoever get painted with a negative brush because of how they sound.”</p>
<p>The larger bias that has prevented Busch from becoming a bigger story, however, is probably the cultural bias of mainly East Coast national journalists against NASCAR racing. The sport is more popular in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-dick/nascar-has-a-republican-k_b_3992677.html">Midwest and the South</a>, particularly among older and <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/which-sports-have-the-whitest-richest-oldest-fans/283626/">whiter audiences</a>. Coastal journalists who don’t follow the sport, don’t know it well, and don’t identify with its audiences are less likely to make a big deal out of any NASCAR story, even one as <a href="http://deadspin.com/kurt-busch-testimony-my-ex-girlfriend-is-a-trained-ass-1679380690">bizarre as Busch’s</a>. The fact that it’s easier to identify Ray Rice as an important NFL star worth covering than it is to identify Busch as one, and that NASCAR is much less popular than the NFL, is likely the greater bias that has kept the Busch story from blowing up nationally.</p>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 22:39:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/espn_s_steven_a_smith_thinks_nascar_driver_kurt_busch_s_domestic_violence.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-23T22:39:00ZbriefingStephen Smith Thinks Kurt Busch’s Case Is Being Ignored Because He’s White227150223006nascarJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/espn_s_steven_a_smith_thinks_nascar_driver_kurt_busch_s_domestic_violence.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Jerry Markland/Getty ImagesKurt Busch was suspended for allegedly assaulting ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.Blind Into Mosul?http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/blind_into_mosul.html
<p>Last summer, ISIS shocked the world when it captured the Iraqi city of Mosul. Last week, the U.S. military made its own shocking move when, in a strategically bizarre decision, it <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/world/middleeast/assault-to-retake-iraqi-city-from-islamic-state-is-planned-for-spring.html?_r=0">announced a timetable</a> for an upcoming offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS. By doing so, U.S. officials raised the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/world/battle-to-retake-iraqi-city-looms-as-test-of-obamas-isis-strategy.html">expectations of the operation</a> to the point that it will be judged as a test of the administration’s overall strategy to counter the group. Unfortunately, even if the city is eventually retaken, the circumstances under which that happens could set back the larger war effort.</p>
<p>U.S. commanders predict that 20,000 to 25,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops will be needed to retake the city, which is disconcerting given that roughly 30,000 Iraqi troops <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/11/mosul-isis-gunmen-middle-east-states">turned and ran</a> in the face of an assault from just a few hundred ISIS fighters last summer. Today there are believed to be between <a href="http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2015/02/us-military-reveals-massive-plan-attack-retake-mosul-islamic-state/105669/">1,000 and 2,000 ISIS fighters</a> in the city, who, if they weren’t already preparing for a siege, certainly are now.</p>
<p>The U.S. has sent <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/iraqis-worry-wont-ready-mosul-operation-220804727.html">thousands of tons of weapons and military equipment to</a> Iraq, and American advisers are working with Iraqi troops, but investment was never the issue. The U.S. <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/03/us-may-have-wasted-8-billion-in-effort-to-rebuild-iraq/">spent about $20.2 billion</a> during the reconstruction of Iraq to train and equip the Iraqi military that disintegrated at Mosul. Iraq’s military was hobbled by corruption and sectarian division and there’s good reason to think that former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, ever-paranoid about a military coup or the return of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/06/19/how_maliki_s_paranoia_created_iraq_s_dysfunctional_military.html">wanted it that way</a>. It would be pretty remarkable if a decade of mismanagement had been rectified in the last eight months.</p>
<p>Not only has the situation not been rectified, but Iraq’s official military is being largely eclipsed in the anti-ISIS fight by Shiite militias. The <em>Washington Post </em>reported in February that the militias’ ranks <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraqs-pro-iranian-shiite-militias-lead-the-war-against-the-islamic-state/2015/02/15/5bbb1cf0-ac94-11e4-8876-460b1144cbc1_story.html">had swelled</a> to between 100,000 and 120,000 fighters while the Iraqi army has dwindled to just 48,000, The plan that CENTCOM officers outlined last week <a href="http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2015/02/us-military-reveals-massive-plan-attack-retake-mosul-islamic-state/105669/">involved five special Iraqi army brigades</a> plus three brigades of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, but many in the region, <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article10937564.html">including the Kurds, </a>are skeptical that the Iraqi army can mount such an attack without substantial help from the militias. And if that were to happen, it would mean that the U.S. would be providing air support to Iranian-backed paramilitaries. Not exactly what Obama wants to be doing.</p>
<p>Here’s another likely outcome: A “successful” U.S.-Iraqi operation in Mosul delivers a great propaganda victory to ISIS. Thus far, any wins by local forces against ISIS have all required substantial U.S. air support. Even the much-vaunted Kurdish Peshmerga <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/12/22/Kurds-push-deeper-in-Sinjar-but-face-ISIS-resistance-.html">needed an assist</a>. They pushed ISIS out of the Syrian city of Kobani in January—the last battle <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/10/08/the_fall_of_the_small_syrian_city_could_anger_kurds_draw_turkey_further.html">viewed as a test case for</a> Obama’s strategy—but not before four months of brutal urban warfare and a massive U.S. bombing campaign <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/10/08/the_fall_of_the_small_syrian_city_could_anger_kurds_draw_turkey_further.html">devastated the city</a>. As an activist in the ISIS capital of Raqq <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/21/islamic-state-capital-raqqa-syria-isis">wrote in the <em>Guardian</em></a>,&nbsp; “People don’t look at Kobani and see a defeat, because everyone had to leave and the Americans bombed it to rubble to win.” The judgment would be even harsher if the U.S. decides it has to destroy Iraq’s second-largest city in order to save it.</p>
<p>The administration and the public are understandably anxious for progress against ISIS. But rushing into a risky operation now could be a serious mistake. Given ISIS’ shocking brutality and alarmingly rapid spread over the last few months, it’s hard to be patient. But the group’s territorial gains have <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/airstrikes-have-halted-islamic-state-in-iraq-u-s-says-1410729692">been largely halted in Iraq</a>. While it continues to expand in Syria, both in terms of territory it controls and the number of fighters at its disposal, there are signs that it’s <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/20/might_isis_collapse_before_america_can_destroy_it.html">deteriorating from the inside</a>. At this point it’s a forgone conclusion that this war is going to be a long one, for reasons that have as much to do with the difficulty of cobbling together an effective anti-ISIS coalition out of Iraqis, Syrian rebels and Kurds as with the tenacity of the enemy. Launching a major offensive too early could prove disastrous, which is why it makes no sense that the U.S. just gave itself such a rigid timeline. &nbsp;</p>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 22:00:56 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/blind_into_mosul.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-23T22:00:56ZbriefingThe U.S. Is Making a Terrible Strategic Error In Its Fight Against ISIS227150223005Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/blind_into_mosul.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty ImagesA Kurdish peshmerga fighter looks at smoke rising in the horizon following US airstrikes targeting ISIS militants in the outskirts of Mosul on August 18, 2014.Why Bill O’Reilly Will Survive Accusations of War Reporting Puffery When Brian Williams Didn’thttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/bill_o_reilly_argentina_claims_why_the_fox_news_host_will_survive_his_war.html
<p>Fox News is standing by host Bill O’Reilly after allegations that he exaggerated claims of reporting in an Argentinian combat zone earlier in his career, when he worked for CBS News. “Fox News Chairman and C.E.O. Roger Ailes and all senior management are in full support of Bill O’Reilly,” a spokeswoman said in a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/business/media/bill-oreilly-fox-news-host-fights-back-at-claims-of-exaggerated-stories.html">statement</a>&nbsp;Sunday.</p>
<p>The vote of confidence comes a couple weeks after Brian Williams was suspended by NBC News over puffing up his war reporting record. So why aren’t the charges against O’Reilly resulting in similar consequences? Why is O’Reilly likely to survive this episode relatively unscathed, while Williams’ journalism career is probably over? Here are five good reasons.</p>
<p><strong>1. The case against Williams was specific, while the case against O’Reilly is more open to interpretation. </strong>Brian Williams said he was in helicopter that was hit by an RPG in Iraq when he actually was not. The <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/bill-oreilly-brian-williams-falklands-war">most specific claim</a> against O’Reilly is that he misled people when he said that he and an injured photographer were being chased by the army during the Falklands War, when he was never actually physically in the Falklands. While O’Reilly strongly implies in several statements that he was in the Falklands during Argentina’s 1982 war with Great Britain, he only once—according to a <em>Mother Jones</em> investigation—directly used the words “in the Falklands” to describe his reporting. That throwaway line could also be read as “during the Falklands” if you’re being generous, and O’Reilly has essentially argued that this is what he meant. Also, the incident in question—a protest outside of the presidential palace that a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/16/world/thousands-in-buenos-aires-assail-junta-for-surrendering-to-britain.html">contemporaneous <em>New York Times</em> report described as violent</a>—did in fact occur. The question is whether or not it occurred the way O’Reilly described it and whether or not it was unreasonable to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/23/bill-oreillys-implosion-at-cbs-following-his-falklands-war-combat-reporting/?tid=hp_mm&amp;hpid=z3">interpret the incident the way he did</a>. “Troops fired at the crowd. I was in the middle of that carnage.” O’Reilly <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mother-jones-accuses-bill-oreilly-of-hyping-his-war-zone-experiences/2015/02/19/ddbfaf70-b88f-11e4-aa05-1ce812b3fdd2_story.html">told the <em>Washington Post </em>last week</a>: “In Argentina, I was in combat in the sense that bullets were being fired.”</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/076790849X/?tag=slatmaga-20">his book</a>, O’Reilly described the incident as a “major riot” where “many were killed” and other journalists were under assault, and wrote that his cameraman was injured. The CBS journalists who were apparently there separately—O’Reilly has said he doesn’t remember the loudest critic, Eric Engberg, as being on the scene with him—interpreted the scene differently. While no one has reported if anyone was killed during the incident, the contemporary <em>Times</em> reporting certainly backs up the idea that there were shots fired and people, including journalists, were injured.</p>
<p><strong>2. Unlike Williams, no American soldiers are claiming that O’Reilly stole their valor.</strong> The argument that O’Reilly is exaggerating is being made by <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/seven_cbs_staffers_discredit_bill_o_reilly_s_argentina_war_zone_claims.html">O’Reilly’s former colleagues at CBS</a>, who were apparently not physically with O’Reilly during the incident in dispute. The claims against Williams came from combat veterans who were at the scene with the NBC News anchor, packing a much bigger emotional punch.</p>
<p><strong>3. The case against O’Reilly feels ideological and personal. </strong>Bill O’Reilly’s entire career has been built on the idea that he is a truth-seeking everyman at constant battle with liberal pinheads, and he has been able to successfully respond to this episode using that <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/corn-and-engberg-claims-about-oreilly-seem-politically-personally-motivated/">exact narrative dynamic</a> in his favor. O’Reilly has argued that <em>Mother Jones</em>, the outlet that first reported the claims against him, is a “far left” web site in the business of attacking right-wing figures and that their report was “<a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/david-corn-response-oreilly-falklands">a political hit job</a>.” <em>Mother Jones</em> has won deserved <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/47-percent-story-earns-mother-jones-a-national-magazine-award">national</a> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/mother-jones-david-corn-george-polk-award">awards</a> for its sterling investigative journalism in the past, but it <em>is</em> liberal, and proudly so. This makes O’Reilly’s defense easier to swallow, especially for a Fox News audience already inclined to support their man against what they view as partisan attacks from media outlets that they <a href="http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits/10-20-2014-2-31-55-pm/">strongly distrust</a>. It doesn’t help that, in an effort to highlight hypocrisy, <em>Mother Jones</em> itself seems to have exaggerated the degree to which O’Reilly “excoriated” Williams in his own commentary about the NBC incident—as the <em>Washington Post</em> noted, O’Reilly actually “<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/23/bill-oreillys-implosion-at-cbs-following-his-falklands-war-combat-reporting/?tid=hp_mm&amp;hpid=z3">went easy on the embattled anchor</a>.”</p>
<p><strong>4. Bill O’Reilly is way more important to Fox News than Brian Williams was to NBC News. </strong>O’Reilly’s show has consistently been the <a href="http://www.click2houston.com/news/money/bill-oreilly-has-full-support-from-fox-news-chief/31425890">top-rated program</a> on the top-rated network in cable news. While “NBC Nightly News” took a <a href="http://nypost.com/2015/02/18/nbc-nightly-news-loses-700k-viewers-after-brian-williams-scandal/">ratings hit after Williams’ suspension</a>, he is just not as important in the universe of NBC as O’Reilly is to Fox News. NBC as a network is far more focused on non-news programming like sports, scripted television, and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=3&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CDIQFjAC&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewrap.com%2Fratings-the-voice-finale-falls-but-still-dominates-wednesday-demo%2F&amp;ei=ZXDrVLPaK9OIsQSL-IC4DQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNGr3VQgT_hBI6vBEjnXX3ikjedEzQ&amp;sig2=jRpL8M_Yi7k5TE1ZEoyrsQ&amp;bvm=bv.86475890,d.cWc">singing Americans</a> <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CCUQFjAB&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2014%2Ftv%2Fnews%2Famericas-got-talent-still-ruling-summer-ratings-as-nbc-wins-week-in-demos-1201269338%2F&amp;ei=fnDrVMbZJ-bHsQSBuYDgCw&amp;usg=AFQjCNHU4YmateAkCY9X1Xnu0Qvl7C-e9g&amp;sig2=RECyr-SjG7OWnHW8vfKJ7g&amp;bvm=bv.86475890,d.aWw">of various talent</a>. Add the fact that O’Reilly has survived an even bigger scandal—the 2004 <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/oreilly-settles-sex-harass-suit/">sexual harassment lawsuit</a>—and it seems pretty clear that Fox News is way more invested in O’Reilly’s career than NBC was in Williams’ and will stand by him in almost any situation.</p>
<p><strong>5. Reputation matters. </strong>The same liberal critics who might actually push for O’Reilly’s ouster are less outraged by his claims than they were by Williams’ because of how they view both men. The web site “The Frisky” <a href="http://www.thefrisky.com/2015-02-20/bill-oreilly-is-a-lying-liar-but-fox-is-not-about-to-care/">sums it up</a>: “Williams’ lies are a betrayal, because people actually thought he was trustworthy. Bill O’Reilly’s lies are the equivalent of your grandpa telling you he walked ten miles to school everyday, uphill both ways and in four feet of snow.”</p>
<p>Unless the cameraman O’Reilly said was injured during the protests comes forward and calls him a liar, don’t expect any negative repercussions for the popular bloviater. Even then, I wouldn’t hold my breath.</p>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 20:30:25 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/bill_o_reilly_argentina_claims_why_the_fox_news_host_will_survive_his_war.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-23T20:30:25ZbriefingWhy Bill O’Reilly Will Survive Accusations of War Reporting Puffery When Brian Williams Didn’t227150223004bill o'reillybrian williamsJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/bill_o_reilly_argentina_claims_why_the_fox_news_host_will_survive_his_war.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Slaven Vlasic/Getty ImagesHere's smirking at you, Bill.Al-Shabab’s Call to Attack the Mall of America Isn’t Much of a Threat, But the Group Still Ishttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/al_shabab_threatens_to_attack_the_mall_of_america_canada_s_west_edmonton.html
<p>Terrorist groups need attention to survive. If they can’t get it by actually launching attacks, just talking about attacks will do.</p>
<p>Over the weekend, Somali jihadist group al-Shabab released a propaganda video calling for attacks against the Mall of America in Minnesota, Canada’s West Edmonton Mall, and two Westfield malls in London. While clearly a bid for publicity after a year of headlines dominated by ISIS, Boko Haram, and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the video does comes with some weight, given that al-Shabab actually did attack the Westgate mall in Nairobi in 2013, killing more than 60 people. There’s also evidence that Shabab has <a href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/08/08/fbi-al-shabaab-released-violent-video-to-recruit-minn-men-for-jihad/">actively recruited fighters</a> from Minnesota’s Somali community. But Shabab has never carried out an attack outside East Africa and it seems unlikely that they would warn their targets to step up security before launching the first one.</p>
<p>The U.S. government <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/homeland-security-chief-worried-al-shabaab-mall-threat-141316539.html">doesn’t seem that concerned</a>, though with a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/02/22/homeland-security-funding-shutdown-immigration/23740809/">potential shutdown looming</a>, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson couldn’t help noting that this sort of vague threat is<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/22/al-shabaab-mall-threat-homeland-security-shutdown"> the reason his department needs a budget</a>.</p>
<p>This threat may be dubious, but al-Shabab is still dangerous. The group carries out regular attacks in Somalia, including a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/20/africa/somalia-violence/">bombing that killed 15 people</a> at a well-known Mogadishu hotel last week, and has become more international in its ambitions. It was behind a<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/16/us-kenya-attacks-idUSKBN0ER0FF20140616"> series of deadly raids in Kenya</a> during last year’s World Cup and there are <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-nigeria-schoolgirls/boko-haram-trades-terrorist-tactics-somalias-al-shabaab-n140456">signs that it is in communication</a> with Nigeria’s Boko Haram.</p>
<p>The current state of al-Shabab also tells us something about the challenges of fighting groups <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/10/27/terrorists_or_rebels_what_do_groups_like_isis_and_al_qaida_actually_spend.html">that function simultaneously</a> as both traditional terrorist cells and guerilla armies engaged in civil war. Like ISIS and Boko Haram, al-Shaba once exerted de facto political control over a substantial portion of territory in Somalia. Since it was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 and <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/somalia-kenyan-army-says-now-controls-kismayo-141636865.html">lost its last urban stronghold</a> in 2013 following a Kenyan-Somali military offensive,<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2013/09/22/al_shabab_attack_on_kenyan_shopping_mall_why_it_could_be_a_sign_that_the.html"> it’s gone underground</a>, changing its operational focus. What was once an <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/horn-of-africa/somalia/b099-somalia-al-shabaab-it-will-be-a-long-war.aspx">army in control of territory</a> has <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/horn-of-africa/somalia/b099-somalia-al-shabaab-it-will-be-a-long-war.aspx">become a more traditional terrorist group</a>, and in some ways more dangerous to foreign countries.</p>
<p>The lesson going forward is that groups like al-Shabab can be defeated on the battlefield, but then can then transform into something equally or even more threatening, and much more difficult to eliminate. Something to keep in mind as the fight against ISIS escalates.</p>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 19:02:17 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/al_shabab_threatens_to_attack_the_mall_of_america_canada_s_west_edmonton.htmlJoshua Keating2015-02-23T19:02:17ZbriefingAl-Shabab’s Call to Attack the Mall of America Isn’t Much of a Threat, But the Group Still Is227150223003Joshua KeatingThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/al_shabab_threatens_to_attack_the_mall_of_america_canada_s_west_edmonton.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Westgate mall in Nairobi after the al-Shabab attack.Alan Turing's Family Urges Pardon for 49,000 Men Convicted of &quot;Gross Indecency&quot;http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/alan_turing_s_family_asks_british_government_to_pardon_men_convicted_under.html
<p>The family of scientist Alan Turing <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/turing-family-present-petition-seeking-pardons-49-000-110820395.html">delivered a petition to British officials on Monday</a>&nbsp;calling for 49,000 men to be pardoned for &quot;gross indecency&quot; convictions, <em>AFP</em> reports. Turing was charged in 1952 under the now-discarded law, which <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labouchere_Amendment">criminalized homosexual behavior,</a> and the chemical castration he received as a result was followed by his apparent suicide a few years later. The petition, hosted by change.org, bears <a href="https://www.change.org/p/demand-justice-for-the-49-000-men-who-were-wrongfully-criminalized-for-being-gay">more than 523,000 signatures.</a></p>
<p>Turing's story gained wider attention with the 2014 release of&nbsp;<em>The Imitation Game, </em>which brought Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor for&nbsp;Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of the code-breaking and computing pioneer. Cumberbatch recently&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31070115">expressed support</a>&nbsp;for the pardons.</p>
<p>Turing <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/24/enigma-codebreaker-alan-turing-royal-pardon">received a royal pardon in 2013,</a> but his example doesn't assure that the path toward exoneration for others will be a smooth one. British law generally <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10536246/Alan-Turing-granted-Royal-pardon-by-the-Queen.html">restricts requests for posthumous pardons</a>&nbsp;to people shown to be innocent of the crime in question, regardless of whether the law was subsequently repealed. The request to throw out Turing's conviction was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2012/feb/07/alan-turing-pardon-lord-mcnally-lord-sharkey-computers">initially rejected</a>&nbsp;in 2012 by Britain's justice minister, who said that the pardon would be &quot;inappropriate&quot; since Turing was &quot;properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offense.&quot;</p>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 18:32:57 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/alan_turing_s_family_asks_british_government_to_pardon_men_convicted_under.htmlBeth Ethier2015-02-23T18:32:57ZbriefingAlan Turing's Family Urges Pardon for 49,000 Men Convicted of &quot;Gross Indecency&quot;227150223002Beth EthierThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/alan_turing_s_family_asks_british_government_to_pardon_men_convicted_under.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty ImagesAlan Turing.Texas Conjoined Twins&nbsp;Separated After 26-Hour Surgeryhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/conjoined_twin_separation_knatalye_hope_and_adeline_faith_mata_separated.html
<p>Houston doctors successfully separated 10-month old conjoined twins last week, <a href="http://www.khou.com/story/news/health/2015/02/23/conjoined-twins-separated-at-texas-childrens-hospital/23866141/">reports KHOU</a>. The 26-hour surgery, which was completed on Feb. 17 at Texas Children's Hospital, means that Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata are no longer joined at the chest and abdomen.</p>
<p>&quot;This surgery was not without its challenges with the girls sharing several organ systems,” Dr. Darrell Cass, pediatric surgeon and co-director of Texas Children's Fetal Center, told KHOU.</p>
<p>The procedure, in the works for months, included 3-D modeling of the twin girls’ organs and simulations of the surgery.</p>
<p>The surgery separated the girls from their chest wall, lungs, pericardial sac (the lining of the heart), diaphragm, liver, intestines, colon and pelvis, reported KHOU. The actual separation took 18 hours, but other elements of the surgery took several hours more.</p>
<p>The entire procedure required a team of 50 medical professionals, according to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CCUQFjAB&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.today.com%2Fhealth%2Fsurgery-successfully-separates-conjoined-twins-2D80508003&amp;ei=XE3rVMP1L-bfsATtjoKQAg&amp;usg=AFQjCNFjb_rshEgmHOulAQPHm3Q4uuOFew&amp;sig2=fffAivxzxHYxQlIP_OuZMw&amp;bvm=bv.86475890,d.aWw">NBC’s <em>Today Show</em></a>, that included specialists in pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, cardiovascular surgery, urology, liver transplant surgery, orthopedic surgery and pediatric gynecology.</p>
<p>In 2006, <strong><em>Slate</em></strong>’s Daniel Engber reported how, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2006/08/twentysix_hours_in_surgery.html">by working in teams</a>, doctors are able to separate twins.</p>
<blockquote>
A conjoined-twin operation can be broken down into many stages, like the initial incision, the work around the bones, separation of the blood vessels, and reconstructive plastic surgery. A different team of surgeons scrubs into the operating room for each stage, most of which take only a few hours to complete. That way, most of the surgeons don't end up working for more than four or five hours in a row.
</blockquote>
<p>You can watch the moment the babies’ parents Eric and Elysse Mata learned that the separation had occurred courtesy of the <em>Today Show</em> in the video above.&nbsp;</p>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 16:11:23 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/conjoined_twin_separation_knatalye_hope_and_adeline_faith_mata_separated.htmlJeremy Stahl2015-02-23T16:11:23ZbriefingTexas Conjoined Twins&nbsp;Separated After 26-Hour Surgery227150223001twinsJeremy StahlThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/23/conjoined_twin_separation_knatalye_hope_and_adeline_faith_mata_separated.htmlfalsefalsefalseCourtesy of Facebook.Pre-separation.Watch Jersualem Mayor Tackle Palestinian Attackerhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/video_jersualem_mayor_tackles_palestinian_attacker.html
<p>Jersusalem Mayor Nir Barkat just happened to be near a busy intersection when an 18-year-old Palestinian stabbed an ultra-Orthodox Jew. Video shows the mayor (wearing a white shirt) walk toward the suspect with his bodyguard before lunging at him and pinning him down on the street. The assailant, who did not have authorization to live in Israel, was then detained, reports the <em><a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-stabs-man-in-jerusalem-neutralized-by-mayor/">Times of Israel</a></em>.</p>
<p>The video is a bit far away, but if you look carefully it’s possible to first see a man flailing his arms about in a stabbing motion and then the people around him fleeing once they realize what’s going on. That’s when the mayor and his bodyguard approach him. &quot;My bodyguard took out his weapon and when he aimed at the terrorist, the terrorist dropped his knife and we immediately tackled him on the ground to make sure that he cannot continue with the terror attack,&quot; Barkat told reporters, according to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/22/us-israel-palestinians-mayor-idUSKBN0LQ0SG20150222">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>The victim, who is in his 20s, was moderately wounded. &quot;I felt a sharp blow in my stomach. I began shouting that there was a stabbing and that they should move away, then he came to stab me again and I blocked him with my tefilin,&quot; Abraham Goldstein tells <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4629577,00.html">Ynet</a>.</p>Sun, 22 Feb 2015 21:59:50 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/video_jersualem_mayor_tackles_palestinian_attacker.htmlDaniel Politi2015-02-22T21:59:50ZbriefingWatch Jersualem Mayor Tackle Palestinian Attacker &nbsp;227150222004Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/video_jersualem_mayor_tackles_palestinian_attacker.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty ImagesJerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat talks to the press after casting his vote on Oct. 22, 2013 in Jerusalem during Israel's municipal elections.Seven CBS Staffers Discredit Bill O’Reilly’s “War Zone” Claimshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/seven_cbs_staffers_discredit_bill_o_reilly_s_argentina_war_zone_claims.html
<p>Seven people who worked for CBS during the Falklands War essentially say that Bill O’Relliy is lying about his experiences. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/22/media/cbs-staffers-oreilly-argentina/index.html">CNN</a> talked to seven of O’Reilly’s former colleagues—four of whom asked for anonymity—and they all challenge his description of Bueons Aires as a “war zone” and “combat situation.” In addition, none of them have any recollection of a CBS cameraman being injured as O’Reilly claims. &quot;Nobody remembers this happening,&quot; said Manny Alvarez, who worked as a cameraman for CBS News in Buenos Aires.</p>
<p>Former CBS News correspondent Eric Engberg also went on <a href="http://us.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/02/22/rs-stelter-intv-bts-engberg-new-bill-oreilly-video.cnn">CNN’s Reliable Sources</a> on Sunday to refute Bill O’Reilly’s claims. Engberg said O’Reilly has turned the story “to a more frightening situation than it was.” Engberg says he was at the scene and didn’t see anybody get killed and didn’t even hear shots being fired. “I do have this personal dispute with him,” Engberg said. “He’s not a real reporter. And he was not in a combat zone that night. This was not a combat zone. Not even close.” Earlier, Engberg wrote a Facebook post challenging O’Reilly:</p>
<p>O’Reilly didn’t stand down though, calling into Fox News host Howard Kurtz’s program to challenge his former colleague by a <em>New York Times</em> story that mentions a police officer fired shots. O’Reilly also questions whether Engberg was even on location: “I’d like everyone to ask him, ‘Were you there?’ because his reputation was ‘Room Service Eric,’ because he never left the hotel.” Discrediting the messenger seems to be a regular feature of O'Reilly's rebuttals. Earlier, he <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/21/video_bill_o_reilly_defends_war_reporting_claims.html">harshly criticized</a> David Corn, one of the two journalists who wrote a piece for <em>Mother Jones</em> that first raised questions about O'Reilly's claims.<br /> </p>Sun, 22 Feb 2015 20:36:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/seven_cbs_staffers_discredit_bill_o_reilly_s_argentina_war_zone_claims.htmlDaniel Politi2015-02-22T20:36:00ZbriefingSeven CBS Staffers Discredit Bill O’Reilly’s “War Zone” Claims227150222003Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/seven_cbs_staffers_discredit_bill_o_reilly_s_argentina_war_zone_claims.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesBill O'Reilly waits for the arrival of President Barack Obama during an event in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 27, 2014.Gov. Scott Walker: “I Don’t Know” if Obama Is Christianhttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/gov_scott_walker_doesn_t_know_if_obama_is_christian.html
<p>It’s not just about loving the country—it seems there are a lot of things Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker doesn’t know about the man who has been in the White House for more than six years. In an interview with the <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/walker-says-he-is-unaware-whether-obama-is-a-christian/2015/02/21/6fde0bd0-ba17-11e4-bc30-a4e75503948a_story.html?tid=sm_tw">Washington Post</a></em>, Walker said he simply is not aware about whether Obama is a Christian. “I don’t know,” Walker said when he was asked the question. “I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said. “I’ve never asked him that.”</p>
<p>Walker said the whole premise was ridiculous because “you’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?” Well, you know, except for the fact that the White House and the president himself have repeatedly stated that Obama is a practicing Christian, because certain sectors are constantly asking questions about his religion. As <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/scott-walker-i-dont-know-if-obama-christian">MSNBC</a> points out: “Many have argued that attempts to express ambiguity or ambivalence about the president’s religious background is part of a thinly veiled racial attack on Obama’s character.”</p>
<p>Walker, however, thinks the question itself was ridiculous and is “a classic example of why people hate Washington and, increasingly, they dislike the press.” Walker’s spokesman insisted on this point later, saying that “of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian” but is opposed to “these kinds of gotcha questions.”</p>
<p>Some disagree:</p>
<p>Walker’s remarks are seen as even more controversial considering they came after a week in which the governor has repeatedly refused to distance himself from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s statement questioning whether Obama loves his country. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know, one way or the other,” Walker told the <em>Post</em> when asked about the president’s love of country. “I’ve said that 100 times, too.”</p>
<p>The <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/scott-walkers-cowardice-should-disqualify-him/2015/02/20/2ee9fbf6-b900-11e4-aa05-1ce812b3fdd2_story.html">Washington Post</a></em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/scott-walkers-cowardice-should-disqualify-him/2015/02/20/2ee9fbf6-b900-11e4-aa05-1ce812b3fdd2_story.html">’s Dana Milbank</a> wrote on Friday that Walker’s failure to distance himself from Giuliani’s words should disqualify him as a serious presidential contender. Milbank explains what he sees as particularly “alarming” about the whole controversy:</p>
<blockquote>
There will always be people on the fringe who say outrageous things (and Giuliani, once a respected public servant, has sadly joined the nutters as he questioned the president’s patriotism even while claiming he was doing no such thing). But to have a civilized debate, it’s necessary for public officials to disown such beyond-the-pale rhetoric. And Walker failed that fundamental test of leadership.
</blockquote>
<p>Just in case there’s any doubt, <strong><em><a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/20/barack_obama_loves_america_and_thinks_it_s_great_video_evidence_contradicts.html">Slate</a></em></strong>’s Ben Mathis-Lilley put together a video illustrating how “there is simply no question that, in his own telling, Barack Obama believes that the United States is an exceptional, great, splendiferous nation—the world's most powerful force for good.”</p>Sun, 22 Feb 2015 17:06:00 GMThttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/gov_scott_walker_doesn_t_know_if_obama_is_christian.htmlDaniel Politi2015-02-22T17:06:00ZbriefingGov. Scott Walker: “I Don’t Know” if Obama Is Christian227150222002Daniel PolitiThe SlatestThe Slatesthttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/22/gov_scott_walker_doesn_t_know_if_obama_is_christian.htmlfalsefalsefalsePhoto by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesWisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at the American Action Forum on Jan. 30, 2015 in Washington, D.C. &nbsp;